ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist&reg;.com: Duke's Damage Control</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style1 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="116" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="24" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="465" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="18" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="283" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr height="26"> <td width="624" height="26" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#149; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#149; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#149; <a href="teflon.html">THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#149; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">REACTIONS</a> &#149; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="1"> <td width="116" height="2574" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="489" height="1" colspan="3"></td> <td width="18" height="2574" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr height="2573"> <td width="489" height="2573" colspan="3" align="left" xpos="116" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5"><b> <br /> Obama&#39;s Health Care Fight</b></font> <p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>by John M. Curtis<br> (310) 204-8700</b><br> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright June 8, 2009<br> All Rights Reserved.</i></font></p> <p><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span class="style1">O</span>f all the battles President Barack Obama faces during the presidency, none is greater than pushing his version of national health care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>American public opinion has been buffeted by the most severe recession since the Great Depression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Job losses have been staggering since Dec. 07, shedding 7 million and boosting national unemployment to 9.4%. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>Barack promised to restore around 3 million jobs with his economic stimulus but, so far, unemployment continues to dismantle the nation s jobs picture, threatening the economy s long-term health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Without reversing the current trend, unemployment could hit 10% by year s end, creating more economic bad news and driving consumers into retreat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It s within this dismal backdrop that Barack tires to sell his national health care plan, linking it, whenever possible, to the nation s economic recovery:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Most see it as an economic drain.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Congressional Republicans bristled at Barack s plan of making the congressional health plan available to average citizens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They worry that an affordable government plan would put private health insurers out of business, something so ironic it defies logic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack s plan offers low deductibles and no exclusions, something inconceivable in the private insurance market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>High deductibles and excluding preexisting conditions allows private insurers to guarantee hefty profit margins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Republicans like to rant about  government plans, unless, of course, it involves their own insurance. They have no problem using Medicare, blasting, on the one hand, Obama s plan as a European socialism designed to destroy quality American health care, while, on the other hand, gladly participating in the Medicare program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Congressional Republicans already caved in to the insurance lobby.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Working against Obama is a mounting budget deficit and national debt, in part caused by his $750 billion economic stimulus plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned Congress last week about growing budget deficits threatening economic recovery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>European central bankers, backed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy, have resisted the U.S. and British approach of printing more money to offset recession and a bank liquidity crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> At a time when major government programs like Medicare and Medicaid are already on a path for fiscal insolvency, creating a brand new government program will no only worsen our long-term financial outlook but also negatively impact American families who enjoy the private coverage of their choice, said a letter to Obama from all but one of Senate Finance Committee Republicans.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Obama finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Pushing his national health care plan at a time of national economic upheaval<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">.&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Apart from the fiscal madness of such a plan, the country has formidable national defense bills, unsure what the future holds for Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea and the Israel-Palestine question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Democrats know that if they go to a totally partisan approach like the president has suggested they re going to eat that the rest of their lives, said Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Ut.), ranking member on the Finance Committee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> I ll be able to help them, but not with a public plan, rejecting Democrats approach to national health care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hatch gladly supported former President George W. Bush s Medicare Prescription Drug Part D plan, accelerating Medicare s insolvency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hatch and other congressional Republicans see Obama s plan as fiscal insanity.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Obama s plan offers average citizens the same government insurance as enjoyed by members of Congress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He sees the government s plan as forcing the insurance industry into healthy competition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Republicans, on the other hands, see a new government plan as breaking the health insurance industry by offering a plan too good and cheap to pass over by ordinary workers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If employees opt for the government plan, he wants employers to reimburse the government. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>Republicans fear that if the government subsidizes national health insurance, it will destroy employer-based health plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> If individuals are not offered affordable choices, the use of a fallback public plan as a last resort plays a critical role, said independently-minded Sen. Olympia Snow (R-Maine.), signaling she might back Obama s plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Unlike Obama, most Democrats want a Medicare-like national plan.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Barack faces an uphill battle pushing his version of national health care at a time of recession and growing budget deficits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While he plans to wind down the Iraq War, he also plans to escalate the fight in Afghanistan, in effect, saving little to fund a national health insurance plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While 80 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton support a Medicare-like plan, there s too much opposition within the GOP and Democratic Party for approval.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack s health insurance plan threatens private insurers, forcing them to compete with a wholesale government plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) backs a compromise plan where a private insurers would administer the government s program<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">.&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Most recognize the government s fiscal straightjacket, preventing them from subsidizing health care for all Americans.</p> <p><u><b>About the Author</b></u></p> <p><b>John M. Curtis</b> writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.<br> </p> <p></p> </td> <td width="1" height="2573"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2573"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="116" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="116" height="1"></td> <td width="24" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="24" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="283" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="283" height="1"></td> <td width="18" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="18" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">&copy;1999-2002 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>