Will Obamacare be a Casualty of the Obama Stimulus?

The big Obama health project is faltering. Congressional Democrats are balking at the price – and flinching from the tax increases necessary to pay that price. The Obama administration’s case for health reform rests on grand but implausible promises of cost savings.

The big Obama health project is faltering. Congressional Democrats are balking at the price – and flinching from the tax increases necessary to pay that price. The Obama administration’s case for health reform rests on grand but implausible promises of cost savings. In a country where 2/3rds of the population enjoys very adequate coverage thanks either to government-subsidized employer care or Medicare or some other program, the Democrats are reeling before Republican accusations of socialism. How did the administration arrive at this impasse? A big part of the answer: The president’s flawed stimulus plan. The $800 billion spent on Democratic lawmakers’ wish lists aggravated the country’s terrifying debt outlook – forcing health reform to be sold as an economy measure, rather than as something people might actually want. The failure of the stimulus to deliver results in the current year casts doubts on all other administration forecasts. If they promised no worse than 8% unemployment and delivered 9.5% instead, who will believe them when they say health reform will save money? And finally: the recklessness of the stimulus plan – spending unprecedented money to satisfy Democratic constituencies – lends credence to Republican charges that the administration has substituted some fanatical radical agenda for the calm, reasonable, and hopeful message candidate Obama offered during the campaign. The tragedy is: the country actually does need a serious health reform. If it does not happen now, it will be due in large part to the president’s decision to put his party’s partisan appetites first.