I second Chris’s recommendation to read the New York Times article today on industry’s partnership with the White House on health care reform. The piece comes very close to explaining the landscape correctly, I think, but at least one part deserves immediate response.
The article uncritically quotes W.H. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel saying, “The very groups we have been talking to have been the most vocal opponents of health care reform; they are now becoming the vocal proponents for health care reform.” This is misleading or dishonest.
Is Rahm talking about Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart supported an employer mandate back in 2006.
Is he talking about the health insurers or the drug makers? Is there any evidence they have ever opposed subsidies and mandates for health insurance? Quite the opposite is true, as Rahm should know, because he stood on stage with the top health insurance lobbyist in 2007, where she declared, “Covering children is the cornerstone of making access to health care coverage a reality for all Americans. This bipartisan effort provides a framework for an achievable public-private partnership that should move forward this year.”
