A Bumpy Road for Reform | Health Care Reform 2009

John K. Iglehart The legislative process is one of ebb and flow, particularly when politicians are confronted with issues that demand tough choices and divide the voters who elected them. Both currents were at work recently as one Senate committee and two House committees passed health care reform legislation supported by the administration while the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the measures would not “bend the cost curve,” as President Barack Obama has insisted they must, but instead would accelerate the growth of health care spending. Adding to the challenges facing reform was the finding of a new survey that public approval of Obama’s handling of the issue has dipped below 50% for the first time.1 Recognizing the growing list of concerns being registered — particularly by Democrats — Obama has plunged more actively into the pursuit of reform, emphasizing that Congress has already made “unprecedented progress” toward enacting reform and vowing, “We are going to get this done. We will reform health care. . . . I’m absolutely convinced of it.” Read More