Now Is The Time For Universal Health Care

Paul Krugman in the New York Times:

The whole world is in recession. But the United States is the only wealthy country in which the economic catastrophe will also be a health care catastrophe — in which millions of people will lose their health insurance along with their jobs, and therefore lose access to essential care.

Which raises a question: Why has the Obama administration been silent, at least so far, about one of President Obama’s key promises during last year’s campaign — the promise of guaranteed health care for all Americans?

Good question. I've been wondering about that myself. When my son lost his job a couple of years ago, he tried to start a small business. The COBRA premiums on the health insurance from his former employer were too expensive, so he bought private health insurance. That was during the year after his divorce, and his blood pressure went up, no doubt due to the twin catastrophes, and the private plan doubled his premiums. He was forced to abandon the idea of a small business and take a job with health-care benefits. I wonder how many small businesses do not succeed or are never started due to health insurance issues. It seems to me that our country, where capitalism is valued next to God (or even higher than God!), entrepreneurship is too often stifled because of the pathetic state of our country's health care.

If you're wealthy, or elderly with Medicare coverage, of if you're well-covered by your employer's health care plan, you do all right. But if that's not the case, then you're in a pretty bad way.

Krugman lists several reasons why Obama's advisers may be cautioning him against moving forward on universal health care, which you can read if you click the link. Of the final possible reason, Krugman says:

Finally — and this is, I suspect, the real reason for the administration’s health care silence — there’s the political argument that this is a bad time to be pushing fundamental health care reform, because the nation’s attention is focused on the economic crisis. But if history is any guide, this argument is precisely wrong.

Don’t take my word for it. Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, has declared that “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” Indeed. F.D.R. was able to enact Social Security in part because the Great Depression highlighted the need for a stronger social safety net. And the current crisis presents a real opportunity to fix the gaping holes that remain in that safety net, especially with regard to health care.

I believe that Krugman is correct in his analysis.