The War on Health Care Reform: as always

[Vox Moi]

The Gipper, on Medicare. 1961

Harry and Louise Ads, 1993-1994, Paid for by the Health Insurance Industry in response to the Clinton Health Security Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_and_Louise

In early 1993, the Council of Teaching Hospitals (about 25 of the most prestigious Hospitals in the country) launched a massive program of hospital data collection and sharing. This program was in direct response to the prospect of health care reform. In public, this data development plan was described as a means of improving the quality of care. In private, among hospital executives, it was a means of rebutting government arguments for reform. Interest in this 'quality of care' initiative waned about the same time Clinton's Health Security Act was abandoned.

Clearly, health care reform could not be accomplished without buy-in from the entrenched interests and the structure of the ACA is the result of that strategy. However, that buy-in did not guarantee peace in our time: it was a continuation of the war on Health Care Reform by other means. If the ACA was destined to pass it still could be made to fail and that failure would re-enforce the notion that the only solution to Health Care was in the realm of the private sector.

As with the Republicans in Congress, Obama failed to understand that he is trying to compromise with entrenched interests who are fundamentally opposed to the prospect of any government intervention or oversight at all. Even as they gain millions of new customers, the Insurance companies are fighting the ACA with disinformation, increasing rates and lowering benefits. The website troubles were a godsend to the opposition and the industry managed to lay all the cancelled insurance policies right on Obama's doorstep.

In today's dispatches from the front lines is another setback for the ACA at the hands of insurance companies who are delighted to see Obama taking the blame for a situation they created on their own. The war drags on ….

An Associated Press-GfK poll:
In the survey, nearly half of those with job-based or other private coverage say their policies will be changing next year — mostly for the worse. Nearly 4 in 5 (77 percent) blame the changes on the Affordable Care Act, even though the trend toward leaner coverage predates the law's passage.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/15/obamacare-poll_n_4448662.html

[doc03]

1. The more I know about the ACA the more I think it is going to give the House and Senate to the

Republicans next year. Sure there are good things, I have posted a couple myself. The thing of it is 85%
of Americans already had health insurance and 3 out of 4 of them believe it has raised their premiums and
out of pocket costs. That is a big portion of the voters 3 out 4 of 85% of the people. I read a story yesterday
that Volunteer fire companies with over 50 members were going to have to provide health coverage for their members. If
that is the case small communities can't take that on it will bankrupt them. I don't know if these kind of stories have
any truth to them or not but every day drip drip drip it is going to kill us.