Is Health Care Reform a Political Asset or a Liability?

It’s no shock that Health Care Reform has stalled.  Since the Massachusetts election, everyone from the President to Congress is trying to figure out ways to get it moving.  It’s the “how” that no one has an answer to.  But, what is the motivation?  Is it that we as a nation are in dire need of reform – or, are the Democrats (and Republicans) trying to explain to the American public why they have wasted away the last nine months?

On Monday, President Obama proposed a televised half-day summit on February 25th, where he’d meet with Republicans so the process can become more bipartisan.
Insiders suggest that this is really more of a way for President Obama to show that Republicans are unwilling to compromise and to draw attention to the Republicans’ lack of health care reform options.

Republicans are most likely expected to take up the President on his invitation. They have outlined their concerns about the conversation, one major point being that they want to start from scratch since they weren’t involved in the process from the get-go. They will bring with them a set of ideas that they would like to push through, including emphasizing tax incentives and allowing insurers to sell outside of state borders, with no new federal mandates on Americans or businesses and only a modest expansion of the federal safety net.

This looks more like a political move than a true step to reform health care. Republicans want to start from scratch, while the President wants them to work with what already exists. Regardless, the Republicans plan would fall short of the current plan, increasing coverage to far less than the 30 million the current bills propose to cover.

Will Republicans continue to dig in their heels and be reluctant to participate in the meeting if the current Senate or House bills will be the starting point.  Or, will they come to the table with new ideas that both parties can embrace.  While many within the insurance industry applauded the Massachusetts election, are we content if nothing happens?  Obviously some level of reform is necessary.  Now to figure out what, how, when and how much.  Some things never change.