What President Obama Needs To Say

Tonight, President Obama is going to give one of the most important speeches of his administration. Why? This speech will show if he is truly ready to stand up and be a leader.

This entire debate now falls upon leadership, and I will be looking as to whether he falls into step with his party or not. If he does, we will see this plan fall to pieces, because he refuses to be the leader he was elected to be.

There are many points of contention in this plan:

• It is too long and too much for one bill. It needs to be broken down and dealt with topic by topic. If the president agrees to this, he will be showing leadership.
• The government option (call it what it is!) is a boiling point. The liberals want it, and the American public does not. To drop it will lose votes, and to keep it will lose votes. Here is a major point of leadership. He has already said in the past that this is his one goal - a single payer system. Where will he stand tonight?
• The cost of the various options being "submitted" (because if you are not a Democrat you are not allowed to have your plans heard), are astronomical. He wants this plan to be revenue neutral. To pay for it, you have to make major cuts somewhere. Where is he going to stand on this?
• Also on costs, the current mountains of pages hide costs in various places. Some plans push a bulk of the costs onto states which are already in the hole economically. Other options hide costs by calling for "non-budgeted" expenditures which are totalling in the billions. Will he address this?
• What about tort reform? The democrats will not touch it with a ten thousand foot pole because they are heavily funded in their campaigns by these lawyers (case in point, the former Senator, wife cheating, ambulance chasing lawyer named Edwards). The Republicans want reform. A real leader will make some kind of move towards fixing this problem which would save doctors billions, that in turn would cut costs for patients.
• The people do not want the IRS having more power (we want it abolished anyway, but that is another debate). To suggest that the IRS should be allowed to fine people without health coverage goes far beyond the scope of this under-controlled institution. Also, health records do not need to be sent to the feds for better record keeping. That is too much government and too close to home. We want a federal government that is a whole lot less cozy with us. President Obama needs to address this issue.
  

There are also points to agree on:

• People with pre-existing conditions (such as myself) need hope that they can find good care in the future.
• People who lose their jobs need hope that they can carry their insurance until they get a new job and either get new insurance or be allowed keep what they have.
• There needs to be more competition instead of one or two insurance companies dominating a state. The federal government could fix this easily with interstate commerce adjustments.
• Costs need to be clear. Patients need to be able to shop the costs.

To see a good framework for such a plan look here: Empowering Patients

These pillars, in the Empowering Patients Act, were framed by doctors, who are now representatives in Congress, and can be subdivided for separate debate. That what we really want.

So Mr. President, again, if you are listening. Do not shove this enormous bill down our throats. It is too much to swallow and way too much for legitimate debate. If you really want to get it right, break it up in pieces. Then we can get to the real debate and real changes for those who need it. Thanks for listening, if you are. I guess we will find out tonight.