The REAL public view on healthcare

Clever manipulation. In fact, what the American people hate is the lack of
progress, the incessant back-and-forth, the gridlock. What the American people
hate is watching the sausage being made, the side deals and horse trading, the
refusal of the two parties to get together and pass a bill, the simple lack of
action. Right now, 59 percent of Americans believe that the delays in passing a
bill are more due to both sides playing politics and only 25 percent think it
is more about Republicans and Democrats having policy disagreements.

Gillis Long, a former congressman from Louisiana, said it best: “Never
underestimate the basic intelligence of the American voter, but never overestimate
how much information they have.”

In this case, the many changes to the bill being considered, the complicated
nature of the problem and solving it and the various parts of the legislation
being proposed are a lot to absorb.

But let’s look at where we are right now and examine polling that does not come
from either the Republicans or the Democrats.

In today’s Washington Post there is a very interesting question,
as we approach the healthcare summit on Thursday, put forth by the Kaiser
Family Foundation. How would you feel if Congress decides to stop work on healthcare
reform and does not pass a law this year?

Despite the Republicans’ harping on the false
argument about “government-run healthcare,” the American people actually
support most of what is in the legislation being discussed.

Just look at these numbers from recent Kaiser polls:

76 percent support reforming the way health insurance works
72 percent support tax credits for small businesses
71 percent support creating a health insurance exchange/marketplace
70 percent support expanding high risk insurance pools
68 percent support providing financial help for low-/middle-income people

And when it comes to preventing insurance companies from denying coverage
because of pre-existing conditions and putting a cap on lifetime benefits, the
numbers are off the charts — 37 percent believe that it is Extremely Important
to put this into law, 39 percent believe it is Very Important and 15 percent
believe Somewhat Important. That is 91 percent!!!

So let’s get real here on where we should proceed with Thursday’s summit.

We need a bill. Americans are demanding a bill. Inaction is not an option. For
Republicans to maintain that Democrats and the president “are not listening” to
the American people is totally false. The facts are clear: Americans support
the particulars of the legislation; they want action, not gridlock; they believe
it is the job of the Congress to get it done with the president’s leadership.

To be blunt, we hope that a number of Republicans will get on board and be part
of the solution; we hope they will offer up more specific ideas this week; but
if there is a continued effort to kill healthcare reform, then it is time to go
to reconciliation and pass it without their support. The public wants it, the
public needs it, and to cave to over-the-top rhetoric from Tea Party
Republicans would be a disaster.