Health Care Reform: My Thoughts on "The Speech"

This evening (as most people know), President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress on Health Care, specifically:

• the current state of it in the U.S.
  
• his thoughts on why reform is needed
• what reform should accomplish
• what is/is not true about the rumors that have circulated about the proposed reform "bill."
  
  (I put "bill" in quotations because no official bill has yet been agreed upon. Four submitted, one more on the way)
  

A number of things stand out with this address, both in regard to his speech, and the nature of the event. While the President often addresses the nation, be it on prime time TV or otherwise, presidential speeches to joint sessions of Congress come few and far between. The last one given, to my knowledge (and excluding State of the Union/Inaugural Addresses), was given by President Bush after 9/11. I personally think this scarcity is because of how much time is spent applauding (if you're the party in power) and attempting to look as-defiant-as-one-can-while-sitting-during-a-joint-session-of-Congress (the minority party). The fact that Obama chose to hold such an address on health care stands as a testament its importance.

So, enough about the actual event, what about the speech? Overall, I found myself pleased with the speech. The President seemed to approach the entire debate head-on and systematically work through some problem issues. Could there have been more discussed? Of course. More details given? Without a doubt. From a practical stance, however, he seemed to cover the most important things as best as he could for the time being (it was only a 45 min speech, after all). I was specifically glad to hear Obama address the few following things (among many others, because my opinion obviously weighs heavily on both him and Congress):

• The current outrageous costs of health care when compared to nations similar to the U.S. Health care accounts for ~18% of our GDP , while the next closest country slides in at ~9% (That link is also just a good website to checkout for general health care facts).
  
  When compared, health rankings between the US and similar nations have no real statistical difference (measures include infant mortality, life span, cancer survival rates, etc). If there's no real different in that, and in patients' satisfaction with their physician, why does our cost so much more? For more information, this article summarizes things pretty well and pulls statistics from the CIA World Fact Book.
  
  
• The idea that an extreme change, to either the right (complete individual privatization) or the left (national single payer), can not be viewed as a feasible option right now. The health care system ties too tightly into the entirety of our economy and way-of-life that any major overhaul would simply be too detrimental .
  
  One of the most frustrating things to hear others talk about is how the US will have "socialized medicine." It's just not going to happen, and really, socialized medicine wouldn't actually be the end of the world (surprised, no?), we as a country just make terrible connections when we hear the world "Socialism" (You can thank the National Socialist German Workers Party for that, along with the Cold War. Oddly enough neither are true examples of socialism).
  
  I'm also glad he addressed other silly things like the idea of death panels and the fact that many in the GOP (and some on the left) are actively choosing to not work because it's a better political move. I'm sorry, I like to think that you were elected to work. I wish all in Congress would work so hard that there was no one the people could NOT reelect them rather than sitting-bored because you'd rather not make waves.
  
  
• His inclusion of Ted Kennedy's well-touted view that the health care debate should not be a political or partisan debate, but a moral debate. It's not often that I would prefer our Congress to debate moral issues, however the issue of health care strikes a different chord with me.
  
  I've always thought a person's ability to easily access adequate medical care when needed as something that just makes sense. I cannot understand why people are more than okay with protecting citizens and their safety by having military/police/firefighters/clean water/etc but then run scared when prompted to protect a persons general well being.
  
  It just does not compute for me. I think when people get sick they should be able to focus on getting well rather than even entertaining the idea that they might not go see the doctor because of access/cost.
  

I could go on for pages explaining all of my thoughts and comments about the speech and debate, but I'm not sure how many people have made it this far. If you really want to read more of my rambling ideas: click here.

If you missed the speech, NPR has a pretty good summary , or you can read the entire text here (it's a few clicks down, past an initial summary).

For a good website that just has interesting health care facts, check out the NCHC (National Coalition on Health Care- they were linked above too). I find the "Facts" tab at the top to be most interesting.

Sidenote: I wish my time stamp was accurate. Anyone know how to change that?

Lastly, what did you all think of the speech? Or how do you feel about the debate/reform? I'm happy to discuss or just see what other people think. Until next time.