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   Memo: The way forward on health care reform in 2010.
 A dark legacy of the Vietnam War is creating a whole new set of problems.
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June 18, 2009
HEALTH CARE POLLING.... A few new national polls were released over the last 24 hours, but of particular interest are public attitudes about health care reform. The data from the new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll seems relatively encouraging.
Americans are, in other words, open to persuasion. They don't know they like Obama's approach, but approve when they hear about it. The public option fares very well -- 75% support is tremendous -- but hesitate when confronted with conservative arguments. If the White House has a powerful communications strategy in mind, now would probably be a good time to launch it. The same poll found majority support for requiring all Americans to get insurance, but majority opposition to taxing health benefits. Gallup, meanwhile, also issued an interesting poll, which asked respondents to say whether or not they have confidence in various groups and names involved in the health care policy debate. Doctors, hospitals, and President Obama all fared pretty well, with majorities expressing confidence. At the bottom we see pharmaceutical companies (40%), insurance companies (35%), and congressional Republicans (34%). That's right, GOP lawmakers fared even worse than insurance companies. With these results in mind, mcjoan asks the right question: "So, for the 432nd time, why do the Democrats feel it is so critical for 'bipartisanship' on this one? No one is demanding it except Republicans who keep showing, time, and time, and time again that they are not going to help." —Steve Benen 10:35 AM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (106)Comments
why do the Democrats feel it is so critical for 'bipartisanship' on this one? No one is demanding it except Republicans... And Broder. Can't forget Broder. Unfortunately. Posted by: low-tech cyclist on June 18, 2009 at 10:47 AM | PERMALINKSteve wrote.. "If the White House has a powerful communications strategy in mind, now would probably be a good time to launch it." Yes! Since people prefer the devil they know, there *must be a sound strategy to convince them of the necessity of change. The status quo is not an option? Why? Lay out the problem, present the solution, explain how and why it will work. Make the dissemination of the message a coordinated effort. This is a (propaganda) war, people! Posted by: FC on June 18, 2009 at 10:48 AM | PERMALINKWhy? Because the 'status quo' 'business as usual' folks run both parties. Fix that and you fix America. Posted by: anonymous on June 18, 2009 at 10:52 AM | PERMALINKNo one is demanding it except Republicans who keep showing, time, and time, and time again that they are not going to help. Well, and the Villagers. But we know now from Kristol's memo that the GOP did not approach this issue in good faith back in the Clinton administration, and we know that the GOP approaches nothing in good faith now. Of course they'll try hard to work the refs -- the fauxtrage over the ABS show is one example. But although principled Republicans might have faith-based convictions that government health care reform won't work, their refusal to engage in good-faith debate reveals how shallow and hollow that faith is -- as well as the obvious point that yet another successful and popular Democratic social program dooms the GOP even more to political irrelvance. Kristol said as much back in the '90s. And if the American people need to suffer under an expensive and substandard health care system as they have over the last decade, well, that isn't too high a price for the GOP to pay. After all, when they get elected, they enjoy top-notch health care. Government-run, in fact. Posted by: Gregory on June 18, 2009 at 10:59 AM | PERMALINKThere are a few in the House and Senate speaking for the working poor in this and other debates, but not enough. The "status quo" enablers would do well to recognize that an individual's access to affordable health care is fundamental to the health of society as a whole. They are intertwined. I realize that many cannot or will not see this bigger picture, and I'm not sure how to move them, but the cost of not making progress is frightening. If politicians don't listen and act on behalf of the middle class on down, the ranks of the poor will continue to grow and the already-wedged-open door that Limbaugh, Beck and company exploit could be blown off its hinges. We could be facing some very dark times ahead, in terms of social unrest and the far right. Posted by: FC on June 18, 2009 at 11:08 AM | PERMALINKWhat's this fascination with polling the AmericanMoron? He is ignorant, under educated, and lacks interest in anything that doesn't entertain him on his TeeVee. Asking the public about health care, and then totalling up his responses is a waste of time, money, and energy. Remember, this is the same public who believes in angels, UFOs, and a Flat Earth. . . Posted by: DAY on June 18, 2009 at 11:11 AM | PERMALINKI am actually insurance companies polled so well. 40% is pretty good considering how tremendously and transparently lousy they are. I would have thought something more like 20-25%. Posted by: brent on June 18, 2009 at 11:11 AM | PERMALINKobviously that should be I am actually *surprised* insurance companies polled so well. Posted by: brent on June 18, 2009 at 11:13 AM | PERMALINKWhat DAY said . I get a very uneasy feeling that the propaganda war will start soon and per DAY's comments , the uneducated masses will be once again convinced to vote against their own self interest. I have seen the adds against starting already ..."we don't know what you are proposing but any public plan will destroy the world as we know it " or something to that effect. My only hope is that those without are more vocal than those with , who want to maintain the status quo Posted by: John R on June 18, 2009 at 11:21 AM | PERMALINKSkinner: Yeah, in a dream world. We have a very tight budget; to do what she's asking, we'd have to raise taxes. Audience: Raise taxes? They're too high as they are. Taxes are bad. etc. Edna: It's your children's future. Skinner: It'll cost you. Audience: No to taxes. My God, they're going to raise taxes. etc. Edna: C'mon! Audience: She makes a good case. Good point. etc. Skinner: [rubs his fingertips together] Audience: More taxes? The finger thing means the taxes. etc. Ned: Well, I guess this is a case where we'll have to agree to disagree. Skinner: I don't agree to that. Edna: Neither do I! "...why do the Democrats feel it is so critical for 'bipartisanship' on this one?" Our local cable access channel has a broadcast with my U.S. Senator, Saxby Chambliss (GA), actually interviewing Kent Conrad. They're both from agricultural states, and they were discussing their states' common challenges on that subject. They appeared to be close and gushed over each other profusely. With Conrad leading the charge to derail a strong public option, I thought of this broadcast and couldn't help but wonder if he's letting his close relationships with his Republican buddies cloud his judgment on the issues and what is best for his constituents. Posted by: Chris on June 18, 2009 at 11:25 AM | PERMALINKMSNBC has been spinning this for the last hour and a half as an anti-Obama "honeymoon is over" poll. Posted by: ericfree on June 18, 2009 at 11:26 AM | PERMALINKFC's point (at 10:48am) is an important one. And it's not just that people prefer the devil they know, it's also that achieving a reasonable understanding of the benefits and costs associated with health insurance reform involves a lot of hard work. Posted by: JM-NYC on June 18, 2009 at 11:27 AM | PERMALINK Put the GOP and boot licking Dems on the spot. Can you explain (Sen or Congressman) why 'public option' health insurance is good for thee but not for we? Hm? Can you do that? Didn't think so. Then, STFU! Posted by: numi on June 18, 2009 at 11:32 AM | PERMALINKThree in four people said a public plan is extremely or quite important. Excuse me and my medical colleagues for not jumping right on that. The last people to know anything about what a healthcare system should include are average ignoramuses who happen to have a vote. Next you'll want to do your own surgery. Be my guest. Posted by: Myke K on June 18, 2009 at 11:49 AM | PERMALINKHey-Myke K-Valid Point! You must also be for totalitarianism. How's that insurance/pharmaceutical job going btw? I'll bet the only medical personnel you work with are spin doctors. I said the other day that a poll would show tremendous public interest in a public option! Hah! 75% is a nice number. Excludes only the wingnuttiest like our good pal Myke K. Posted by: dannyshenanigan on June 18, 2009 at 12:00 PM | PERMALINKHey dannyshenanigan, Myke has a better point then your "jab with a stick" style response would suggest. As a doctor myself who is practicing, the insurance reimbursement for all areas is suffering. (You all think doctors are rich though sitting atop their lofty piles of money though.) Point being you think a broke government is going to improve on that trend? Doctors will eventually have to reject such substandard ideas as are being put forth, and then what will you be stuck with? Oh, and Tom Daschle caved on the public option as well. What a shame he had to withdraw his nomination, I'm sure he would have been such a strong leader on reform. http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/06/daschle-folds-on-federal-public-health-care-plan.html DrGabe, What are your suggestions, then? Do you think that all (or as many as possible) US citizens should have access to affordable health insurance? How do we get there? Posted by: JM-NYC on June 18, 2009 at 12:29 PM | PERMALINKI don't mind bipartisanship. It's quite simple. Have the 40 minority senators submit amendments with the understanding that if any are adopted, they pledge to vote FOR the final bill if their amendment is included. If they want no say, they'll offer no pledge. The public doesn't need bipartisanship to support the Democrats. They just need reassurance that the offer of inclusion was made in good faith. Obama did just that expertly and occasional olive branches will maintain the approval rating the Dems enjoy. Of course, the olive branches require occasional cooperation and I don't think the GOP is capable of iron fist discipline for two straight years under those conditions. It might even be akin to a crack in a dam. When three Senators join Snowe and Collins, suddenly 20 will want a piece of influence and pledge their votes. (or not...) Posted by: toowearyforoutrage on June 18, 2009 at 12:40 PM | PERMALINK"Three in four people said a public plan is extremely or quite important. But when told the arguments for and against the plan, a smaller portion, 47%, agreed with arguments in support of the plan, with 42% agreeing with the arguments against it." Being a WSJ/NBC poll, I can only imagine what their version of the pro/con arguments are. I have a feeling a real argument in support of the public option would have bumped the favorability rating higher. DrGabe, I think you forget that people who choose a public option will be paying premiums they would otherwise be giving private insurance companies. Your "broke government" argument doesn't wash. The fact is, most of your "colleagues" understand these dynamics and support a system that reduces costs while providing care for everyone. It's a shame you just DON'T GET IT. Posted by: bdop4 on June 18, 2009 at 12:41 PM | PERMALINKRequiring me to buy insurance from corporate leeches who've spent the last thirty years working hard to not supply the services they were paid for is a non-starter. I'd rather go to prison -- the medical care may be substandard but at least it's not bait-and-switch. Posted by: Desmond on June 18, 2009 at 12:42 PM | PERMALINKThose who oppose a "public option" are obliged to explain how to insure the nearly 50 million under- or uninsured Americans (assuming, of course, that insuring everyone is a policy priority for the US...if not, fine, keep the system we've got). Why aren't the private for-profit insurance companies swarming all over the 50 million, offering affordably-priced health insurance packages with adequate major medical and primary care coverage? Do we think that they simply haven't recognized that there's this vast untapped health insurance market out there? Nope. The answer is: there's no money in it. Which is why any attempt to expand coverage to most US citizens will inevitably involve a major intervention by the public sector. That public intervention could take many forms, but near-universal coverage is impossible without it. Posted by: JM-NYC on June 18, 2009 at 1:06 PM | PERMALINK"So, for the 432nd time, why do the Democrats feel it is so critical for 'bipartisanship' on this one?" Because the yellow-bellied blue dogs want cover for their backsides. Posted by: CDW on June 18, 2009 at 1:34 PM | PERMALINKI can't understand why the Democrats and Obama think they can pass a healthcare "reform" without a public plan and get away with it. The public plan rather than a single payer system was already a compromise. If they pass "reform" that requires everyone to buy insurance and taxes the health benefits people receive from employers (both of which are being seriously discussed), they are reviving the Republican party. They can't seriously think the American people are going to say, wow, we got healthcare reform when all we'll have gotten is an insurance industry bailout. I'm starting to think way too many legislators posing as Democrats are actually moles for the Republicans. And Daschle--what does he think a "reform" without a public plan is offering the American people? I don't know what it will take for us get out our torches and pitchforks, but these folks in Washington need to see some angry mobs. Posted by: sagacity on June 18, 2009 at 3:10 PM | PERMALINKRead Atul Gawande's article in The New Yorker (The Cost Conundrum). Very enlightening. Posted by: VaLiberal on June 18, 2009 at 4:17 PM | PERMALINK"The last people to know anything about what a healthcare system should include are average ignoramuses who happen to have a vote." That sentence on its own deserves jabbing drgabe. If you don't think so, then you're pretty much worthy of the same derision. Otherwise, if you have a point then just make it. I'm no doctor, but as far as I can tell, pointing that out doesn't make me a Marxist. It's defense does, however, say something about you. Posted by: dannyshenanigan on June 18, 2009 at 4:28 PM | PERMALINKVaLiberal, I enjoyed the article you recommended, and it seems that as many of you felt my response was limited in scope, you will have to pardon my lack of confidence in the bailing out of our society. I pride myself in being a doctor who is not financially driven guy. I hope that I can continue as such. JM-NYC my response to you will only half address the question, so I apologize. My suggestion is the answer on the whole will be a mindset shift to consider maintaining ones health. Maybe its tough to get up and walk, eat a little better, and to fight off our gluttonous desire, but you get one body- don't look at insurance as the bailout.
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