Tomorrow President Obama goes on national TV and before a joint session of Congress to re-clarify his position on the necessity of meaningful health care reform.   With two months of fear mongering from the right, and industry nationalizing calls from the left, I believe that President Obama will attempt to deliver a more centrist view of the issues and the needs as he sees it.  


 


There is so much misleading and exhausting information out there that any clear message may be successful if only because centrists are tired of the rhetoric and hyper-claims from both hard liberals and staunch conservatives.  


 


With a new direction at hand, this seems like a good time to review the key articles on the blog so that you can follow the progression of the arguments and assess how accurate my view has been. 


 


As stated here before, the goal no longer appears to be about fixing health care, but rather SAYING that you fixed health care.   Both sides will give themselves a hearty pat on the back claiming victory, and very little will be accomplished except a tax increase and the undoing of the 2003 Medicare Revitalization Act.  A villain will be identified and addressed (insurance companies), but ultimately this won’t mean much to many.   I believe that we should be debating a Single payer system versus an open market, self limiting system that would manage costs by incenting physicians to lower their cost structure.     


 


Here are my key articles from the past couple of months. 



  1. Why Health care reform is being pushed so hard ( July 17th)  : http://bloghealthinsurance.com/2009/07/17/why-is-this-happening-now-so-quickly–is-there-a-secret.aspx
  2. A view of insurance under HR3200 and why so many centrists ended up objecting (July 21)  – http://bloghealthinsurance.com/2009/07/21/my-outlook-of-how-the-health-reform-bills-as-they-exist-would-work-on-a-year-to-year-basis.aspx
  3. Who is uninsured?  It will be interesting to see who is really helped by the next legislative piece.  ( July 22)  : http://bloghealthinsurance.com/2009/07/22/healthcare-reform-would-have-to-include-immigration-reform.aspx
  4. A market study of the Ambulance industry under HR3200 ( August 4th) – http://bloghealthinsurance.com/2009/08/04/the-public-option-flash-point.aspx
  5. My summary of what changes would make a significant difference in reducing costs for all.   This bill, if passed would reduce costs for all and make insurance much more affordable to those with income limitations.  (August 19th).  – http://bloghealthinsurance.com/2009/08/19/health-care-reform-part-2.aspx