The Washington Post
January 25, 2004
Editorial
Unhealthy
For an insight into the inadequacy of the president’s health care proposals
put forward in his State of the Union speech last Tuesday, look closely at a
strike by supermarket workers in Southern California.
Labor leaders acknowledge that this is a national problem, one that they cannot solve at the negotiating table, even if the supermarkets ultimately improve their offer. But does the president acknowledge it? From his speech, it was hard to tell.
Mr. Bush did state that he remains opposed to a “government-run health system.” Fine — but if he wishes to avoid that outcome, Mr. Bush needs to
think more creatively about how he is going to keep the nation’s private health care system viable. A peculiar jumble of old ideas, long discussed but never acted upon, isn’t going to do it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45228-2004Jan24.html
Comment: There is now near unanimous agreement that the funding crisis in
health care requires “a national solution.” There is no escaping the fact that this means federal action. Decades of social experimentation and advancement of health policy science have proven that “a peculiar jumble of old ideas” cannot possibly adequately address our problems in the funding health care.
Now that we accept the fact that a federal solution would be required, we must face squarely the real question. Do we move towards equity and affordability by adopting a federal solution, or do we accept the tragic status quo by rejecting reform through adherence to the politically divisive “government-run” rhetoric?
Let’s dump the rhetoric of the ideologues and get on with reform!