Reich: On Coming Health Care Reform Debate, Obama Must “Twist Arms, Cajole, Force” Congress Members

Robert Reich says that the coming congressional debate on health care promises to be fierce and that President Obama must give strong leadership. “In order to get anything meaningful through this session of Congress,” Reich syas, “the President will have to give congressional Democrats far more leadership and more cover.”

Reich says Obama will, “need to twist arms, cajole, force recalcitrant members to join him, threaten retribution if they don’t come along,” and must stand firm and communicate these three principles:

  1. I will not stand for a bill that leaves millions of Americans without health care. It’s vitally important to cover all Americans, not only for their and their childrens’ sakes and not only because it’s a moral imperitive, but because doing so will be good for all of us.
  2. The only way to cover all Americans without causing deficits to rise is to require that the wealthiest Americans pay a bit extra. The wealthy can afford to make sure all Americans are healthy. The top 1 percent of earners now take home 23 percent of total national income, the highest percentage since 1928. Their tax burden is not excessive. Even as income and wealth have become more concentrated than at any time in the past 80 years, those at the top are now taxed at lower rates than rich Americans have been taxed since before the start of World War II.
  3. Finally, I want a true public insurance option — not a “cooperative,” and not something that’s triggered if certain goals aren’t met. A public option is critical for lowering health-care costs. Today, private insurers don’t face enough competition to guarantee low prices and high service. In 36 states, three or fewer insurers account for 65 percent of the insurance market. A public insurance option would also have the scale and authority needed to negotiate low drug prices and low prices from medical providers.
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