Robert Schlesinger

A Strong Defense of the Public Option, and Active Government

October 1, 2009 RSS Feed Print

By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne today gives one of the more concise, effective rebuttals I've seen to the notion that a public option would destroy private healthcare, and specifically the idea voiced by GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa that government is a "predator."

Grassley was then forced to explain how he felt about Medicare. Is it predatory for government to pay health bills for the elderly? Is Social Security, which lives side by side with private pension and savings plans, predatory? Is it predatory for government to regulate, well, predatory lenders or stock swindlers or bank boodlers?

Democrats have been far too timid in taking on the right wing's arguments against government. They have been defensive when they should be going on offense by insisting that government can expand human freedom and give people options they would not otherwise have.

Consider universal K-12 education, loans and grants to help students attend college, clean water systems, and unemployment compensation so people can get by while they look for the next job. A public insurance option lies squarely within this American tradition of using government to open new avenues of choice and opportunity.

Preach, brother Dionne! There are legitimate questions about a public option—how, for example it would be constructed to prevent employers from dropping their own health coverage and dumping everyone onto the government plan—but he's right that Democrats have become far too accepting of the premise that activist government is ipso facto a problem.

Tags:
healthcare reform,
healthcare

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Health coverage for everyone is not an unattainable goal nor should be a threat to those too afraid to take action in a time of change. Health insurance premiums are have gone up and average of 125% in a decade. This is above and beyond the rate of inflation in the country. How can anyone, even with existing employer funded coverage afford coverage? In the current trend insurance would be likely to go up a minimum of 305 in another five years.

No matter what strategy we use in health care reform, great focus needs to be placed upon procedural costs. There is no stability within the industry.

Dr. Stephen Kardos offers the best summation, "Not-for-profit or for-profit health insurance programs must first change the acceleration of medical expenses caused by the poor quality of proactive (preventive) health management by patients and physicians. Changing administrative venues or administrative expense ratios (the government touts how low their administrative expenses are compared to private insurance) isn’t going to change the medical expenses trend. In fact, a higher administrative to premium ratio will occur as medical claims decrease when better preventive proactive health is practiced." http://www.ourblook.com/component/option,com_sectionex/Itemid,200076/id,8/view,category/#catid107

Maguire of FL 12:22AM October 08, 2009

My neice had brain trauma three weeks ago, she has been in a coma and had FIVE surgeries with a 20.% chance of survival, and where is this, in ENGLAND, if this were here the whole family would lose everything they have due to medical bills. Many years ago I had a bably at six months while on vacation, baby in an incubator in intensive care for three months, me with a c-section and in for nine days the cost ZERO, the care was great in England. My entire family is over there and love their health care, my friends in Canada love their health care -, only in america can you lose evrything you own due to medical. I am an american citizen nd have paid raxes etc. so don't bother telling me to go back.

irene of FL 5:35AM October 05, 2009

That is why everything is falling apart. During the depression Big business Got regulated to keep them under control which got us out of the depression.

And when things went good for to long We forgot about the “Use them up and spit them out policy” of big business and deregulated big business(Short memory?)

Well we are out of the depression caused by that decision but many of us still has no job. I believe small business is the answer. Going to work for big business is going to put us back in a depression because of there “Use them up and toss them out policy” But I have little faith at doing business on line because of big business watching everything that I do online. I turned off cookies to my computer but who do you think makes viruses Big Business has there hand in it I am sure.

I use Linux and even though I have problems they are not as many or as expensive to fix as Microsoft.

And you get a lot of free software that if you can you may donate directly to the person that programed it. You get free online support and there is so many flavors of Linux you either need a lot of computers to try them all or lots of Linux friends (which you have access to) to help you decide which of the hundreds of choices is right for you. Of course I think they have it down to ten or twenty most popular choices.

I believe in choice but big business only believes in there bank account. That is why I believe in A Government that is large enough to keep the people involved and big business under control.

The American Government was not meant to govern the people without the watchful eye of the people

So the responsible American thing to do is get informed and involved with the Government that is “For the People By The People”

Don D. Brock

Don D. Brock of AZ 2:39PM October 02, 2009

Robert Schlesinger

Robert Schlesinger

Robert Schlesinger is managing editor for opinion at U.S. News and World Report, overseeing all opinion editorial content. He is the author of White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters. E-mail him at rschlesinger@usnews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rschles.

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