venerdì 21 agosto 2009

The controversy over the current U.S. health care reform bill is reminiscent of a similar proposal by another Democratic administration in 1993 offered by the Clintons. Bill Clinton had made health care a major plank of his presidential campaign. His wife Hillary Clinton subsequently headed the task force for a proposal that required employers to provide health care coverage and added more regulation to the health insurance industry. The proposal was opposed by conservatives and insurance companies and was tabled the next year by Congress due to its unpopularity in view of the re-election season. The plan later became known derisively as "HillaryCare".

 

Once again, a Democratic administration with a president intent on health care reform has run into a thicket of opposition. The current proposal is more radical than that of the Clintons, by including a government-run insurance plan for individuals. The recent local town hall meetings of lawmakers and their constituents, which were designed to bolster support, instead often have brought angry confrontation with the public who are concerned about their control over health care choices and the $1 trillion price tag. A week ago, President Barack Obama began to back away from his unpopular plan, hoping to salvage more limited provisions which would prevent insurance companies from putting caps on coverage and purging insured people from their plans. He affirmed: "No one in America should go broke because they get sick."

 

Although some prefer to characterize the town hall meetings as dominated by extremists, a large and vocal group is opposed to the current plan, and these are senior citizens. Some attendees have studied the 1000-page proposal closely, while their representatives, who often have not read it, were given cards with talking points by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

 

The confusion generated by the possibility of publicly-funded abortion coverage (which until now has not been offered) and advisory boards which could trump a doctor's judgment in offering appropriate care is fueling the fears expressed in these meetings. Former Speaker of the House during the Clinton administration and Republican Newt Gingrich sent this message on Twitter yesterday: "The test of any health reform proposal is if it gives us more power over deeply personal decisions, or takes it away." The lack of a health care plan centered on the individual is undermining the important objective of providing for the substantial number of un- and under-insured people.

 

In a letter to Congress last month, Bishop William Murphy, Chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, stated: “The USCCB looks forward to working with you to reform health care successfully in a manner that offers accessible, affordable and quality health care that protects and respects the life and dignity of all people from conception until natural death.”