Via Politico:
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has signed on to the progressive Health Care for America Now campaign's principles - a move that bolsters the clout of the nascent organization and could provide him with artillery support as he starts to pound the health-care issue on the presidential campaign trail.
With the $700-billion economic recovery bill now law, Obama has turned his sights on health care. This weekend, he delivered a health-care reform speech in Virginia and launched an ad critical of McCain's health reform plan. Health Care for America's announcement adds more amps to an emerging campaign theme.
Obama's endorsement of the group's principles is not altogether surprising. They closely mirror Obama's health-reform platform. Health Care for America's principles were based on the proposal of University of California at Berkeley political scenic professor Jacob Hacker, who's also advised Obama.
"Ensuring Americans in Illinois and across the country have access to affordable, comprehensive health-care coverage is one of my top priorities," Obama said in a statement released by the group. "We must do everything we can to expand healthcare access, lower drug costs, and improve quality of care for working families, seniors, and children. I am proud to join HCAN's efforts to tackle the tough challenges we face in reforming our nation's healthcare system."
Senator Obama has joined over 70 of his peers in Congress in signing onto Health Care for America Now's vision for quality, affordable health care for all in 2009.
Obviously, having a voice as big and powerful as Barack Obama's forcefully reaffirms that real health care reform is a priority in America, and a priority that will be first on the legislative docket in January.
Meanwhile, conservatives continue their bait-and-switch tactics when talking about health care. Between declaring that there is no such thing as the uninsured, kicking millions out of their current insurance to fend for themselves, and proposing a paltry tax credit (that goes straight to the insurance companies) while cutting working programs like Medicare and Medicaid to pay for it, it's clear conservatives have no interest in fixing the health care crisis. 20 million more uninsured to them is just a number, and they're more concerned about putting money in the pockets of insurance executives.
That's what it really comes down to for me, solving problems. If you really believe deregulation and a tax credit that goes straight from Uncle Sam to the insurance company is going to give people the coverage they need, stop the medical bankruptcies, or insure those who can't get insurance due to pre-existing conditions, then good luck. The rest of us, when we look at the two visions for health reform on the table, see only one that's really dedicated to solving problems in this country.
Health Care for America Now is equally proud to have Barack Obama on board. (We've got Joe Biden, too!) We're looking forward to passing real reform with his help in January.
Update:
Lost in the economic crisis, the lousy horserace numbers for McCain, and the personal attacks of the McCain camp is the ongoing health care crisis in the United States. With our current system, there remain 47 million without care and millions more who are underinsured. Cost issues exist alongside inequalities of care access. And now, with unemployment rising, the issue is becoming more acute (see What's The Effect Of Recession On The Health Care Safety Net?.)
As I have written before, this is not an easy or simple solution to solve. But one thing is clear: John McCain's idea of a solution, aimed at costs but not quality or access, is a terrible idea.
Paul Krugman:Conservative Republicans still hate Medicare, and would kill it if they could -- in fact, they tried to gut it during the Clinton years (that's what the 1995 shutdown of the government was all about). But so far they haven't been able to pull that off.
So John McCain wants to destroy the health insurance of nonelderly Americans instead.
Not good. Obama's idea is different. Today, he signed on to the Health Care for America Now principles, which do not endorse specific legislation, but are compatible with single payer and other approaches. From a press release:
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We've been pushing to make health care a priority in the debates for a week now, with over 4,000 letters sent to CBS News. Let's hope the media gets the message.
(also posted on the NOW! blog)