THE OBAMA administration is holding out the prospect of abandoning a contentious government-run alternative to private healthcare provision as it struggles with increasingly vitriolic opposition to reform of America’s medical system.
Barack Obama has been taken by surprise by the ferocity of the Republicans’ response. Yesterday he attacked “scare tactics” and “wild misrepresentations” in attempts to discredit his plans.
The White House plan to broaden access and cut the cost of healthcare includes a public option, running parallel to private provision, in an effort to provide choice for patients. This has been the target of conservatives who object in principle to government involvement.
Mr Obama’s health secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, indicated that the plans could be subject to revision. She described government involvement as “not the essential element” and raised the possibility of replacing it with provision by non-profit co-operatives.
“I think there will be a competitor to private insurers,” she said. “That’s really the essential part . . . you don’t turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing. We need some choices, we need some competition.”
White House allies have been barracked by angry crowds at town hall-style meetings with constituents across the US. To the alarm of Democrats, the language used in the debate has become increasingly inflammatory with talk by conservatives of government-backed “death panels” determining the fate of human life.
The British national health service has become a target in the debate, with the arguments spilling over into politics. At the weekend, prime minister Gordon Brown stepped up his attack on opposition Conservatives leader David Cameron over the NHS, branding the party as “two-faced”.
Mr Brown insisted that criticism of the health service by two Tory MEPs had revealed the “truth” about the party’s attitude. Lord Mandelson also attacked the Tory leader for saying one thing in public and another in private.
In a New York Times opinion piece, Mr Obama wrote that there was “broad agreement” in Congress for 80 per cent of what he wanted to do and that 14,000 Americans were losing healthcare coverage every day as premiums soared and the recession bit into peoples’ ability to pay.
He wrote: “The cynics and the naysayers will continue to exploit fear and concerns for political gain, but for all the scare tactics out there, what’s truly scary – truly risky – is the prospect of doing nothing.”
Government provision is a significant element of the White House’s plan, although it is far from the only reform on the table.
The public option has been at the core of Republican opposition to what they see as "socialised" coverage. – ( Guardianservice)