Two Over Learned Lessons From The Clinton Health Defeat: by Anthony Sherrell

The Obama administration came into Washington with high hopes for passing health care reform. As there remains doubt as to when or what will be passed, there are two lessons the Obama White House may have over learned from the 1993 defeat of Bill Clinton's attempt to pass reform.

First the President should not be the primary author of a health care plan. This is what was seen as the primary problem with the Clinton effort. To add to that image was the fact that Hillary Clinton was sent out to the nation to promote what became known as Hillary Care. The mistake was seen as the face of reform should not be the President's office. Instead the Obama administration decided to let congress come up with various plans to be debated and forged. This has led to a muddled message where no one knows what is being proposed. There was a need for a single voice to tell Americans what was being put forth on health care. Obama has let his strong voice become muted by letting congress take the lead. As long as Michelle Obama was not sent out to be the voice of the plan, people would have been more accepting.

The second issue was that people wanted their private insurance. All of the debate over what is in the plan could have been avoided by simply removing the age restrictions for getting into Medicare. This is known as a single payer plan. More importantly it is simple and something that all people understand. This could have precluded all the debates of government take over of health care. There are not many people who are on on the Medicare program who would want to go on private insurance. In Canada there is a national health care system, but there also exists private insurance options as well. Instead of starting from a national system people are comfortable with there became spin of scary government proposals. By promoting a public option to compete insurance, the debate has been focused on how that will fit into people's lives. If the debate was started with private insurance being an option to Medicare, there would be less resistance.

In the end, there may well be a good plan passed. However, good the intentions there is something to be said for strong leadership. Instead the process of health care reform was begun on taking a conciliatory position. Maybe the next president will learn from both the Clinton and Obama approaches and get something done.

About the Author:
Anthony writes articles on a multitude topics. Come visit his latest website over at http://www.collagepictureframeshop.com/ which helps people find the best collage picture frames and information they are looking for when looking for photo frames.

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