Why did Obama choose Health Care Reform as his first major battlefield?

[arcadian]

With the economy, two major wars, crumbling infrastructure and a myriad of other issues he could have focused on? What a colossal waste of time and resources.

[Cant trust em]

1. Because its eating federal, state, local and personal budgets

Meanwhile there is the moral concern that in the richest nation in the world, 47 million people do not have access to health care.

[arcadian]

3. I'm guessing they still won't have jack shit at the end of all of this.

[sundancekid]

2. surely you forgot your "snark" tag ... otherwise - get thee to a reality-based kiosk and transform

[NYC_SKP]

4. It's the one that has the smallest window of opportunity. AND...

It's not like he hasn't done anything on the other issues.

[Vinca]

5. Because citizens are suffering and dying needlessly?

[arcadian]

6. I thought we weren't talking about Iraq or Afghanistan here.

[babylonsister]

7. All those months campaigning, all those stories he heard, he

knew something had to be done. I think he always intended to tackle this, just so much was loaded onto his plate at once.

[JohnnyLib2]

8. Awkward question now, but one that will long be asked.

Guess we wait for his autobiography in 2017?

[Overseas]

9. Private insurers made it a major battlefield. Most of us want help.

Private insurers paid millions to right wing PR firms to gin up the dangerous fear and hatred this summer and get people to storm the town halls, terrified of change.

Most of us regular citizens are desperate for national health insurance. 77% of us want a public option. Most of us would be glad to have Medicare for All who choose it.

A lot of us voted for President Obama because he did talk about reforming our broken privatized health care system and we are desperately afraid of losing every bit of our savings due to a health emergency.

The private insurers had over a decade since they last stomped out national health insurance to show us they could do better and they failed miserably. They know it and we all know it and voted for President Obama because he knows it too.

So the private insurers needed to put on a big show to divert this summers' discussions away from the ways in which our system is broken and comparative results with countries whose healthcare systems COVER EVERYONE at a lower price than we pay. They had to stir up a GIANT MAJOR BATTLE !! THOUSANDS FEAR REFORM AND STORM TOWN HALLS WITH GUNS !!

The private insurance industry succeeded in diverting lots of media attention away from their miserable failures.

[Lucy Goosey]

10. Because he promised Teddy. n/t

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

11. Did you miss the entire election where it ranked right up there with War as a MAJOR issue?

I guess you don't know anyone or don't know yourself the crushing misfortune that comes from getting ill and losing your insurance.
Wait a while.

"crumbling infrastructure, a myriad of other issues" ?

[arcadian]

16. I know there are real people dying in Iraq and Afghanistan daily.

I guess hypothetical American lives are more important than real Arabs being slaughtered though.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

18. So it's one or the other with you?

People are able to care about both and the Congress and President should be able to as well.

(And, by the way, it's not "hypothetical" American lives - it's been posted on here often enough the numbers of Americans that die monthly due to lack of healthcare and it's in the thousands.)

[arcadian]

20. well, I guess it's only one thing with Obama

Because Healthcare is the only thing I'm hearing about.

[RaleighNCDUer]

22. There are a SHIT LOAD more Americans dying every day because

of our lack of a health care system than have died in Iraq and Afghanistan combined since the wars began.

Priorities.

[arcadian]

24. Yeah, those Amercians die in bed usually surrounded by family

Not blown to smithereens by U.S. munitions.

Priorities.

[hedgehog]

12. Health care costs are eating us alive. Plug that hole first, and the

economy will improve and there'll be more money for the crumbling infrastructure, green energy investment and college educations

[leftstreet]

13. Because we're not "doing" war this election cycle

And we already "did" the economy

[Oregone]

14. I thought Afghanistan was his first chosen battlefield

Just everyone went hand in hand there with him

[Hansel]

15. Because they have to get health care costs under control in order to

save American jobs. A great deal of outsourcing to Canada by auto companies, for example, is the result of Canada taking on the expense of providing health care. That is a major chunk of change.

Part of the reason that American companies are unable to better compete in the global market is that they carrying burden that no other industrialized country does. In effect, all other industrialized country supplement their businesses by providing health care. And health care costs continue to grow, putting our businesses under an even greater disadvantage which will only serve to accelerate outsourcing.

Also, more small businesses, therefore more jobs, would be created if people didn't have to be married to their jobs in order to have health insurance. Decreasing the price of health care and getting rid of the pre-existing condition clauses would help facilitate many people starting their own businesses. The price of health care was the reason I didn't start a business myself. Small businesses also have a problem recruiting the best employees if they cannot offer health care benefits that larger companies can.

Also, there is a matter of people not having health care. That alone accounts for 6 times as many deaths every year as 911. I think it is a moral issue with Obama as well as an economic one.

Then there is the fact that people are paying more and more of a percentage of their income on health care. This means they can't spend that income on vacations and travels and new cars, new appliances, etc. This stifles the economy as well.

Etc.

[KansDem]

17. I would say because health-care reform has been in the spotlight for decades now...

Just because FOX didn't report it doesn't mean it didn't happen...

[FLyellowdog]

19. Because he wants to

and he's the President.

[arcadian]

21. Sort of like fiddling while Rome burns?

[scheming daemons]

23. Stimulus (Economy) came first.... Health Care second

[johnaries]

25. Uh, he';s working on those, too. In fact, the economy,

infrastructure, torture, GITMO, DADT, and both wars came before Health Care Reform. He's still working on all of them.

[berni_mccoy]

26. More people are dying from lack of healthcare than any of those reason. More than 100k per year.