Dear President Obama;
I understand that only ten letters are presented to you each day as input from we, the people. In that case, this is one of the ten that you should see and I’ll tell you why.
Healthcare reform will be your “Waterloo” as one Senator put it if you fail, at this critical moment, to act decisively. Here are the actions you must take if meaningful reform is to happen:
Number 1: Your Administration’s message needs to be uniform and unambiguous. It serves no purpose for Mr. Gibbs to say, “There is no plan B” when queried in Wednesday’s press briefing as to what would happen should the lack of a public option cause House Democrats to bolt. On Sunday HHS Secretary Sebelius said that a ‘public option’ was not critical to healthcare reform; downplaying the signifigance of that option. Saturday, you, yourself said in Montana that the public option was “…only a tiny sliver” of healthcare reform.
The American people view your Administration as being ‘squishy’. How can the people have any faith in reform when the linchpin of meaningful reform is said to be “..a tiny sliver”. I respectfully disagree, Mr. President. The ‘public option’ is what will keep the private insurance industry honest. Without a real ‘hammer’, the private insurance industry will continue it’s avaricious rape of the healthcare consumer, i.e. middle and working class Americans and small private businesses. You said yourself that the current status quo is unsustainable going forward. One million people a year going bankrupt due to medical expenses will sap the economic vitality of the very people (consumers) who will be the driving force of economic recovery.
You need to make it clear to all of your cabinet officers as well as any other spokesperson that, from this day forward, the public option is non-negotiable. If the Republicans in the Senate wish to block reform, they will pay the price at the polls in 2010. By the same token, every Democratic Senator who supports the public option through to passage of healthcare reform will be assured of a ‘lock’ on rel-election, be it in 2010 or 2012. The Republicans have not bargained in good faith. That much should be clear to you by now. Let them know that the train is leaving the station and if they do not wish to get on board, they alone will reap the consequences.
Number 2: You must take a stronger leadership position. You must do more town halls right up until Congress returns. Be the strong leader that we voted for in the election of November 2008. The electorate perceives of Congress as being weak-willed for good reason; too many are dependent on support of their re-election campaigns by the special interests who want to maintain the status quo. Be resolute in your actions and the people and thus Congress will follow.
Though I often disagreed with President Reagan, he, more than most before him, understood that principle. As an ironic twist of fate, it was Ronald Reagan who, in 1961, led the fight against Medicare. Those of us fortunate to have Medicare now see that it was the right thing to do; it has stood the test of time.
Number 3: The public option, as integral part of healthcare reform will allow small businesses to thrive, relieving small business owners of the onerous burden of providing health insurance for their employees. In turn, those small businesses will hire more persons; more people working will generate greater economic activity and the cycle will repeat and recovery from our economic woes of the past two years will finally occur.
Number 4: KISS-“Keep It Simple, Simon”. Structure the plan as ‘Medicare for everyone who needs it’. That way it can be implemented much earlier than 2013. Or, in the alternative, structure reform along the lines of what the Veterans Administration has been doing for the past four or five years; getting health care done right, patient-doctor focused and utilizing the latest IT to keep costs under control and prioritizing successful outcomes the first time. This also can be accomplished much earlier than 2013.
There you have it, Mr. President. Your ticket to re-election in 2012. Success with healthcare reform will make enactment of subsequent legislation much easier, and, more likely, with Republicans realizing the political reality that “You can’t win if you don’t get in the game”.
Best wishes,
R. Roger Beck
Palm Desert, CA
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