Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius are using their August vacations to try to sell health reform. Unfortunately, no one really knows what they are selling. President Obama was elected in part because millions of Americans wanted health reform. They wanted change and a NEW health care system. What the Congress now has to offer—and Pelosi and Sebelius are trying to sell– is a warmed over version of the dysfunctional system we already have. It’s reasonable to expect that buyers might be leery.
Americans are attracted to all that is shiny, new, high tech, and different. But what are they getting with health reform? The proposed public plan is warmed over Medicaid, not Medicare—and no one is buying that. The insurers still get a big piece of the action—and no one is buying that. The timeline is too long for people out of work now—or fearing a layoff–and no one is buying that. People are wondering why the President is asking them to buy a clunker.
Mr. President, it’s time to take the next exit—turn around– and tell the Congress you want something better to sell on the road.
Tags: Congress, Health Reform, kathleen sebelius, nancy pelosi, president Obama, public policy, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
