President’s Address Reinvigorates Health Insurance Reform

President’s Address Reinvigorates Health Insurance Reform in Individual Health Insurance

Without introducing anything new, President Obama gave a rousing speech aimed at reviving momentum for health care reform. As far as that goes, we thought he knocked it out of the park. You just can’t get around the fact that the president is an amazing orator.

In so far as the details go, there weren’t too many surprises there either, although some interesting assertions were made.

Most notably, the president’s speech backed Senator Baucus’s plan as the blueprint for health insurance reform. Mr. Obama pretty much endorsed Mr. Baucus’s plan point by point.

This, along with cuts in government spending, is how Mr. Baucus trimmed his plan’s price tag down to $880 billion over ten years. Last night, Mr. Obama’s figures came in only slightly higher at $900 billion, which would still uphold his promise not to add to the deficit.

The president also reiterated his support for a public plan but not to the exclusion of other options, calling it merely one of many means to the same end. However, he did state that if legislation fails to provide affordable health insurance for enough Americans, this should trigger a government-run plan — an idea championed by Senator Olympia J. Snowe, a lead negotiator on the Finance Committee.

While the public plan has been a major sticking point, this new configuration may very well be the winning solution.

The New York Times reported that Mrs. Snowe said she was happy to hear the president was considering her idea of only using a public plan as a back-up. She added, “I am pleased that many of the other elements he discussed dovetail with those we continue to work on in the bipartisan Gang of Six.”

Is a light starting to shine at the end of the tunnel? While Mr. Baucus will still have to get Senators Charles E. Grassley and Michael B. Enzi to come around, this is a promising step toward passing a health reform bill — and a bipartisan one at that.

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