Here’s an overview of some of the implications President Obama’s speech last night may have for physicians:
Overall chances for some kind of bill passing
It’s simply too early to say if healthcare reform will pass during this Congress. President Obama seemed to improve his prospects with moderate Democrats, which could be key in maintaining support for a bill. But he definitely did not pick up any new Republican support last night. As David Axelrod, one of the President’s advisors, joked about the GOP House member who shouted “You lie!” during the speech, “I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that maybe Congressman Wilson is not going to be with us on this one.”[i]
It’s simply too early to say if healthcare reform will pass during this Congress. President Obama seemed to improve his prospects with moderate Democrats, which could be key in maintaining support for a bill. But he definitely did not pick up any new Republican support last night. As David Axelrod, one of the President’s advisors, joked about the GOP House member who shouted “You lie!” during the speech, “I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that maybe Congressman Wilson is not going to be with us on this one.”[i]
A few new details
The White House strategy going into the debate at the start of the year was to stay above the fray and provide guidance through some general principles. Legislatively, last night’s speech was mostly a recap of broad ideas the President put forward already. However, he did add some new proposals, including support for [ii] some limited tort reform measures, described below; an individual mandate for health insurance coverage (a reversal of his position during the presidential primary campaign); “high risk” insurance pools for people who could not otherwise get coverage due to preexisting conditions; and a tax on some rich health insurance plans.
Tort reform
Fulcrum Strategies president Ron Howrigan calls tort reform the “Magic Doctor Card.” His argument is that physicians will be willing to overlook significant reform bill defects in exchange for meaningful tort reform provisions. By mentioning this in the speech last night, President Obama signaled that wants physicians and AMA support badly enough to anger reliably Democratic trial lawyers.
From The Wall Street Journal:
And in an effort aimed at key Republican negotiators in the Senate, the White House outlined a new pilot program to move medical-malpractice cases out of the court system and put them before expert panels and arbitrators. White House officials say the program, first floated by President George W. Bush, would be instituted by executive order and wouldn't be included in the health-care legislation….
It was one of the few areas of the plan that Republicans praised, and it won strong endorsement from doctors… "We think this is just an excellent first step," said Rebecca Patchin, board chairman for the American Medical Association…[iii]
What’s next?
This afternoon the President is meeting with key Senators, and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has said he will move legislation within the next two weeks.[iv]
Congress is (in)famous for being unpredictable, but it’s still useful for physicians to think about what could happen if a bill does pass.
[i] http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/09/the-note-joe-wilsons-war-team-obama-finds-a-new-enemy-and-perhaps-new-momentum.html
[ii] http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/09/my-take-on-obamas-speech.html
[iii] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125251148557696003.html
[iv] http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/09/09/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5299004.shtml
The White House strategy going into the debate at the start of the year was to stay above the fray and provide guidance through some general principles. Legislatively, last night’s speech was mostly a recap of broad ideas the President put forward already. However, he did add some new proposals, including support for [ii] some limited tort reform measures, described below; an individual mandate for health insurance coverage (a reversal of his position during the presidential primary campaign); “high risk” insurance pools for people who could not otherwise get coverage due to preexisting conditions; and a tax on some rich health insurance plans.
Tort reform
Fulcrum Strategies president Ron Howrigan calls tort reform the “Magic Doctor Card.” His argument is that physicians will be willing to overlook significant reform bill defects in exchange for meaningful tort reform provisions. By mentioning this in the speech last night, President Obama signaled that wants physicians and AMA support badly enough to anger reliably Democratic trial lawyers.
From The Wall Street Journal:
And in an effort aimed at key Republican negotiators in the Senate, the White House outlined a new pilot program to move medical-malpractice cases out of the court system and put them before expert panels and arbitrators. White House officials say the program, first floated by President George W. Bush, would be instituted by executive order and wouldn't be included in the health-care legislation….
It was one of the few areas of the plan that Republicans praised, and it won strong endorsement from doctors… "We think this is just an excellent first step," said Rebecca Patchin, board chairman for the American Medical Association…[iii]
What’s next?
This afternoon the President is meeting with key Senators, and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has said he will move legislation within the next two weeks.[iv]
Congress is (in)famous for being unpredictable, but it’s still useful for physicians to think about what could happen if a bill does pass.
[i] http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/09/the-note-joe-wilsons-war-team-obama-finds-a-new-enemy-and-perhaps-new-momentum.html
[ii] http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/09/my-take-on-obamas-speech.html
[iii] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125251148557696003.html
[iv] http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/09/09/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5299004.shtml
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