ClydeR
05-11-2009, 02:00 PM
Obama's announcement today..
But what's brought us all together today is a recognition that we can't continue down the same dangerous road we've been traveling for so many years; that costs are out of control; and that reform is not a luxury that can be postponed, but a necessity that cannot wait. It's a recognition that the fictional television couple, Harry and Louise, who became the iconic faces of those who opposed health care reform in the '90s, desperately need health care reform in 2009. And so does America.
And that's why these groups are voluntarily coming together to make an unprecedented commitment. Over the next 10 years -- from 2010 to 2019 -- they are pledging to cut the rate of growth of national health care spending by 1.5 percentage points each year -- an amount that's equal to over $2 trillion. Two trillion dollars.
Their efforts will help us take the next and most important step -- comprehensive health care reform -- so that we can do what I pledged to do as a candidate and save a typical family an average of $2,500 on their health care costs in the coming years. Let me repeat that point. What they're doing is complementary to and is going to be completely compatible with a strong, aggressive effort to move health care reform through here in Washington with an ultimate result of saving health care costs for families, businesses and the government. That's how we can finally make health care affordable, while putting more money into the pockets of hardworking families each month. These savings can be achieved by standardizing quality care, incentivizing efficiency, investing in proven ways not only to treat illness but to prevent them.
More... (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-Reforming-the-Health-Care-System-to-Reduce-Costs/)
This is pretty good news. Instead of doing a lot of regulations and laws, Obama is getting the doctors and hospitals to voluntarily limit spending. That's definitely the same way President Bush would have done it if he was still in office. I give credit where credit is due. I'm concerned, though, about the "next and most important step," which has the potential to wipe out all the good from the voluntary first step.
But what's brought us all together today is a recognition that we can't continue down the same dangerous road we've been traveling for so many years; that costs are out of control; and that reform is not a luxury that can be postponed, but a necessity that cannot wait. It's a recognition that the fictional television couple, Harry and Louise, who became the iconic faces of those who opposed health care reform in the '90s, desperately need health care reform in 2009. And so does America.
And that's why these groups are voluntarily coming together to make an unprecedented commitment. Over the next 10 years -- from 2010 to 2019 -- they are pledging to cut the rate of growth of national health care spending by 1.5 percentage points each year -- an amount that's equal to over $2 trillion. Two trillion dollars.
Their efforts will help us take the next and most important step -- comprehensive health care reform -- so that we can do what I pledged to do as a candidate and save a typical family an average of $2,500 on their health care costs in the coming years. Let me repeat that point. What they're doing is complementary to and is going to be completely compatible with a strong, aggressive effort to move health care reform through here in Washington with an ultimate result of saving health care costs for families, businesses and the government. That's how we can finally make health care affordable, while putting more money into the pockets of hardworking families each month. These savings can be achieved by standardizing quality care, incentivizing efficiency, investing in proven ways not only to treat illness but to prevent them.
More... (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-Reforming-the-Health-Care-System-to-Reduce-Costs/)
This is pretty good news. Instead of doing a lot of regulations and laws, Obama is getting the doctors and hospitals to voluntarily limit spending. That's definitely the same way President Bush would have done it if he was still in office. I give credit where credit is due. I'm concerned, though, about the "next and most important step," which has the potential to wipe out all the good from the voluntary first step.