Health Care Reform

Now that President Obama has focused public attention on the deplorable state of health insurance in America everyone purports to agree that we must change the system. In truth, insurance companies and their executives are profiting handsomely because of preexisting condition clauses and laws that afford the insurance company the right to rescind a policy with impunity.

The politicians who support the insurance companies and their executives know that open support of those and similar unfair practices would be political suicide. The tactic they employ is to voice support for reform but express an inability to support the reform on the table. The strategy is pretty simple. If I did not want to buy my wife a much needed new car I could agree that she needs a new car but fault every car she choose. The first one is too large, or not large enough. It does not get good enough gas mileage or the safety rating does not suit me.

That is the way strategy the supporters of the insurance companies used to derail the Clinton Health Care initiative. That tactic stalled reform and allowed the insurance companies to continue to engage in predatory practices for fifteen years and counting. The democrats need to agree on the best plan available to protect American consumers and get it passed.