Sell-Out By Obama?

In the past day or so I've been struck by three news items about health reforms.

First, former DNC Chairman Howard Dean flatly stated in a TV interview that health reforms without a public option were not worth having.

Second, the New York Times today carried an Op-Ed by President Obama himself on the need for health reforms. He seemed to want everyone on board with it, touting support by provider groups including the AMA. But that may just be the problem.

Third, as also reported in the NYT the White House in its anxiety to pass any type of health reform package seems ready to compromise by dropping the call for a public insurance option. “The public option, whether we have it or we don’t have it, is not the entirety of health care reform” Mr. Obama said. “This is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it.”

Actually, the public option is a huge deal, given that the government buying clout is needed to counter the market power of providers controlling scarce resources or facing little competition. Without it the cost-containment component of health reforms suffers a severe setback even if we manage to expand coverage of the uninsured. Howard Dean realizes this, as does Paul Krugman who reiterated this view in his Op-Ed today in the NYT.

President Obama could have used his speeches and town hall meetings to expose the special interests and their misinformation about the public plan. This could also have deterred Democratic senators like Ben Nelson and Kent Conrad who have apparently been bought over by industry interests. Instead, Mr. Obama seems anxious to pass a reform plan that placates the opposition, even if it is weak and ineffective at reining in costs, and then calling this a victory for his administration (and of course "the American people.") Let's hope I'm wrong.