A quick followup on my previous healthcare summit posts.
First, Obama’s big closing issues were covering 30 the million uninsured and doing something about preexisting conditions. Those are smart choices because (a) they’re popular issues with the public and (b) they’re poison for Republicans. Their plans simply don’t (and can’t) cover a substantial number of the uninsured because you can’t do this in a private system without federal subsidies, and that requires tax increases. Likewise, solving the preexisting condition problem within a private system leads you inevitably to a mandate and subsidies, which requires a tax increase. They’re stuck.
Second, his basic message was a promise to consider some changes to his current position and a challenge to Republicans to do the same instead of merely insisting on starting over from scratch. “If we saw movement, significant movement, not mere gestures, we wouldn’t have to start over,” he said. In other words: cut the talking points and get serious about addressing real problems.
Will it work? It depends on what you think “work” means. There’s no chance of Republicans making any concessions, of course, but Obama’s stated willingness to consider their ideas might help win over public opinion and stiffen some Democratic spines. But that largely depends, I think, on how the press ends up playing this. Stay tuned.
