Krugman: America may finally get what every other advanced country already has

[johan helge]

From http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/opinion/11krugman.html?_r=1:

Harry, Louise and Barack

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Is this the end for Harry and Louise?

Harry and Louise were the fictional couple who appeared in advertisements run by the insurance industry in 1993, fretting about what would happen if “government bureaucrats” started making health care decisions. The ads helped kill the Clinton health care plan, and have stood, ever since, as a symbol of the ability of powerful special interests to block health care reform.

But on Saturday, excited administration officials called me to say that this time the medical-industrial complex (their term, not mine) is offering to be helpful.

Six major industry players — including America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a descendant of the lobbying group that spawned Harry and Louise — have sent a letter to President Obama sketching out a plan to control health care costs. What’s more, the letter implicitly endorses much of what administration officials have been saying about health economics.

(..)

What’s presumably going on here is that key interest groups have realized that health care reform is going to happen no matter what they do, and that aligning themselves with the Party of No will just deny them a seat at the table. (Republicans, after all, still denounce research into which medical procedures are effective and which are not as a dastardly plot to deprive Americans of their freedom to choose.)

I would strongly urge the Obama administration to hang tough in the bargaining ahead. In particular, AHIP will surely try to use the good will created by its stance on cost control to kill an important part of health reform: giving Americans the choice of buying into a public insurance plan as an alternative to private insurers. The administration should not give in on this point.

But let me not be too negative. The fact that the medical-industrial complex is trying to shape health care reform rather than block it is a tremendously good omen. It looks as if America may finally get what every other advanced country already has: a system that guarantees essential health care to all its citizens.

(..)

I still won’t count my health care chickens until they’re hatched. But this is some of the best policy news I’ve heard in a long time.

[Skittles]

1. those Harry & Louise crap ads helped promote offshoring

I don't trust these insurance bastards - my bet is they're trying to get their foot in the door as a prelude to heavy lobbying

[SemiCharmedQuark]

3. That's my thought too. The whole thing smacks of "Shit! Please take this so we don't have to do

anything serious!"

[avaistheone1]

6. I see it as a lose/win situation.

The health insurance industry won. We lost.

Great! now we have the health insurance industry regulating the health insurance industry on costs.
That worked so well for banking industry didn't it?

[truedelphi]

18. Same take here> How is it that Krugman is

Falling for it??

[WinkyDink]

2. Health-insurance reform is not the same as health-care reform.

[NJmaverick]

4. Funny, if this had been Krugman bashing Obama

it would have had 20 recs already:eyes:

[mkultra]

5. idiots love a train wreck.

[HopeOverFear]

9. I know right?

[depakid]

13. Probably because Krugman's right about that criticism-

whereas he may well be wrong with this take. Time will tell.

[NJmaverick]

15. Yeah, I can see where you are coming from

:eyes:

[depakid]

16. Just not a Krugman obsessive

and actualy read and think about the takes. In the presnt case, his optimism may be misplaced- as the big money lobbies' motivations are squarely at odds with the public interest.

[lostnotforgotten]

7. Obama Fail - Single Payer Not On The Table

eom

[avaistheone1]

14. Obama said he would listen to everyone.

He said everyone would have a place at the table. That did not happen with single-payer health care.

Is Obama not the president of the majority of American's who favor single-payer?

[Mass]

8. Insurance companies are playing nice and doing small concessions in order to prevent a public option

Hopefully, Dems will not fall for this (I can dream, I know).

[PassingFair]

17. Bait and switch.

You are exactly right.

[AtomicKitten]

10. Krugman endorses the fox being in charge of the hen house.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/11/paul-krugman-health-care_n_201431.html

:scared:

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman notes today that one of the groups involved is a descendant of the lobbyists that helped kill health care reform with "Harry and Louise." Krugman says he's wary of the shift -- he thinks industry groups will use good will created by this move to try to kill a public health plan backed by progressives). Still, he calls today's developments "some of the best policy news I've heard in a long time."

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

11. re read his last sentence, he wants public health plan choice

he is worried that insurance companies will fake out the Pres and congress
and prevent us from having public health coverage.

[AtomicKitten]

12. Still he calls this "some of the best policy news I’ve heard in a long time"

Can't say I agree with his assessment as it is pretty clear this plan is intended to deep-six a public option.