The Traditional Mainstream Media Is Waking Up To Obamacare's Defects

 Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE

 

Joe Klein is TIME's political columnist and author of six books, most recently “Politics Lost.” His weekly TIME column, "In the Arena," covers national and international affairs. In 2004 he won the National Headliner Award for best magazine column.

He is a Democrat and a big supporter of President Obama.

Joe Klein is a major liberal leaning reporter within the traditional mainstream media. His last two articles in TIME magazine are finally starting to show understanding of the problem with Obamacare. Here are some of these articles more important statements.

He starts one article with,

 “Let me try to understand this: the key incentive for small businesses to support Obamacare was that they would be able to shop for the best deals in health care superstores — called exchanges.

 "The Administration has had three years to set up these exchanges. It has failed to do so."

 "This is a really bad sign.”

The administration continuously claims it is not its fault programs are failing. It is always the other guy’s fault.

The other “guys fault” was the main strategy of President Obama’s reelection campaign. He needs more time to make things work.

“There will be those who argue that it’s not the Administration’s fault. It’s the fault of the 33 states that have refused to set up their own exchanges. Nonsense. Where was the contingency planning?” 

The Obama administration just announced it couldn’t have the health insurance exchanges program ready by January 2014.

It is refreshing to read a liberal mainstream media writer saying what I have said all along.

The Obama administration’s trick here was to stick the states with the costs of the exchanges.

The states that have thought out the consequences have refused to accept responsibility for the health insurance exchange.

The Obama administration has also demanded that states follow the administration’s conditions and rules. The states have viewed this as a threat to states rights.

The Supreme Court sided with the states’ rights argument.

 

"The Obama Administration has announced that it won’t have the exchanges ready in time, that small businesses will be offered one choice for the time being — for a year, at least."

A hidden story is the administration does not have the funding to pay the states for the health insurance exchanges for three years.

This is one of the reasons President Obama is again demanding the ability to raise taxes in a budget agreement. Republicans are saying he has received his tax increases January 1, 2013.

“No doubt, small-business owners will be skeptical of the Obama Administration’s belief in the efficacy of the market system to produce lower prices through competition. That was supposed to be the point of this plan.”

Joe Klein goes on to say,

“We are now seeing weekly examples of this Administration’s inability to govern. Just a few weeks ago, I reported on the failure of the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs to come up with a unified electronic health care records system.”

We have been told that the VA had an excellent electronic health record. The VA advertises that every physician can download it and use it free. I downloaded it.

The VA EHR is very difficult to use.

 Joe Klein had sharp criticism for the “Head Start Program”,

 "There have been the oblique and belated efforts to reform Head Start, a $7 billion program that a study conducted by its own bureaucracy — the Department of Health and Human Services — has found nearly worthless." 

 The list of Obama administration failures is indeed endless. It is the work of a community organizer trying to run a big business.

 “Barack Obama is not a “how” President. Oh, he pays lip service to government reform. His people can tell you the number of unnecessary regulations they’ve eliminated.”

 “ It barely scratches the surface of what needs to be done—there is no creative destruction in government, regulations pile up on top of each other like silt, generation after generation.”

 The next statements confirm Joe Klein’s liberal leanings.

 “One thing is clear: Obamacare will fail if he doesn’t start paying more attention to the details of implementation.”

 “But, as a Democrat — as someone who believes in activist government — he has a vested interest in seeing that federal programs actually work efficiently. I don’t see much evidence that this is anywhere near the top of his priorities.”

 “And, in a larger sense, the notion of activist government will be in peril — “  

“The problem is not, as the Republicans claim, big government. It’s bad government.”

At last the traditional mainstream media is starting to get it. There is starting to be recognition of the problem with government controlled and operated systems.

I have explained many times that the mess in the healthcare system is not a liberal or conservative problem.

It is a problem in creating a healthcare system that aligns all the stakeholder incentives and works for every consumer of healthcare.

A consumer driven healthcare system with appropriate tort reform will have to be developed by the government.

A healthcare system must be constructed that allows consumers to own their healthcare dollars and be responsible for their health and healthcare.

The government could provide the subsidy to the needy. The result would be a healthcare system that would be more efficient and less costly.

Individual responsibility and freedom to choose is essential for a successful healthcare system.

 

 The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone

Please have a friend subscribe