A number of Democratic senators seem to be running scared on the health care issue. Senators such as Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota have echoed Republican fears of government intervention in the health arena. Nelson says as far as he is concerned a "public option" is "off the table." Dorgan says there can't be a public plan because "we may not be able to get to 60 votes."
If a new CBS News/New York Times poll is anything close to right, there is less political cause to worry than they might be thinking. According to the survey, "59% say the government should provide national health insurance, including 49% who say such insurance should cover all medical problems." Here are the figures on who should provide American health coverage:
Private Enterprise 32%
Government - All Problems 49%
Government - Emergencies 10%
Don't Know 9%.
The CBS News/New York Times poll with the same questions in 1979 looked like this:
Private Enterprise 48%
Government - All Problems 28%
Government - Emergencies 12%
Don't Know 12%
The survey of 1,112 Americans seems to reflect what professionals, statistics and anecdotal observers have noted for some time now. The system is getting worse and more and more people are ready for a change. A "medicare-for-all" approach would now be favored by a majority and really ought to be instituted. If private insurers want to compete that will be all the better for both cost and service.
Something will be done on health care this year. The only question is whether it will be meaningful or just kicking the can down the road. It may not need 60 votes, and the people seem more in the mood to have health coverage than protect the insurance industry, the protestations of Republicans and "centrist" Democrats to the contrary.
I recommend a read of Paul Krugman's excellent and concise piece on the topic here.
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