Listening to an American president who can speak intelligibly: what a thrill! As soon as President Obama began to speak to the nation on the evening of July 22, he had my attention. How I would have liked to have been among the White House press corps: Mr. President! Mr. President! So many questions.
I liked what he said about the way we may be able to make affordable health care a reality for most or all Americans, and how he seemed to recognize that though this is huge, truly huge, it’s not the only problem facing our country. I liked the way he seemed to hear the cries of Americans who face a choice between survival and penury…or between death and death. I liked the way he recognized that employers feel as much grief as workers over the failures of our healthcare system, and so, ultimately, will our entire economy.
And I would’ve like to know, really: Mr. President! Mr. President! Surely you don’t think that Medicare will be the model for this new system? What will you do about the fact that an American elder who has the misfortune to suffer an expensive chronic illness may pay as much as $40,000 a year for medications, until he has no more money, nay, not a sou, to support him in his technologically extended life or to keep his wife out of poverty as long as she survives him or to leave to his children to help keep them in the middle class?
Mr. President! Mr. President! What can we do to cover everyone in this country, even the ones who don’t expect to “get hit by a bus,” without bankrupting all of us?
Mr. President! Mr. President! The “97 to 98 percent” coverage of Americans you say will take place…is that enough? Please, will you define who can “afford” medical coverage?
Mr. President! Mr. President! How much of the proposed savings will come from…well, let’s call it what it is: rationing of health care?
Mr. President! Mr. President! What can be done to bring the partisan players together? Why do we have to put up with morons worthies who think they can use this crucial, painful issue to gain a political advantage?
Mr. President! Mr. President! How can we be sure American doctors can make not just a living wage, but the excellent pay deserved by a vocation that saves people’s lives?
Mr. President! Mr. President! Are we going to lose our choice of doctors and caregivers?
Mr. President! Mr. President! Are we going to lose end-of-life care?
Mr. President! Mr. President! Are elders going to be told they can’t have life-saving care, no matter how vigorous or productive they might be, because some statistician says they’re too old for the privilege?
Mr. President! Mr. President! Will we end up with a system of mediocre healthcare for the masses and “Bond Street” care for those who can afford first-rate medical care?
Mr. President! Mr. President! Will we have bureaucrats—whether in government or private industry—telling us which “blue pill” or “red pill” we’re allowed to have, no matter what our doctors and medical researchers think is best?
Mr. President! Mr. President! What exactly do you have in mind when you talk about “cuts in Medicare”? What will you do about the Monster from the Black Lagoon that is Medicare Part D? You say the donut hole will be half filled. But half of 40 grand is still 20 grand…unaffordable to people on fixed incomes.
Mr. President! Mr. President! You say “the whole point of this is to encourage changes that work.” How can we know whether a change will work in the context of a profit-making culture that doesn’t care whether things work as long as money is made? What will you do about the profit-making mentality that has infested delivery of health care in our country?
Mr. President! Mr. President! You mention the Mayo Clinic as a role model of what’s being done right. Yet Medicare’s benefits are so miserly that the Mayo will not accept new patients who are on Medicare. How will your agenda overcome this, given that a government-run program will resemble Medicare in many ways?
And you? If you were there, if you were a reporter in the White House Press Corps, what would you ask President Obama about healthcare reform?