Once Obama assumes office, health care reform reform will probably have to take a back seat to addressing the economic crisis. Or at least that’s the conventional wisdom. I don’t see why the two policy goals have to be separated and I expect Obama and his transition team are thinking the same thing. A deepening recession is going to push more individuals and families into the ranks of the uninsured, making this the ideal time to roll some initial expansion of health care into a broader stimulus. The previously vetoed expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program is one example of quick action that an Obama administration could take. Meanwhile, Congressional leaders like Max Baucus are already developing more comprehensive proposals. Baucus’ plan expands Medicare and Medicaid, while providing tax credits to small businesses and individuals to purchase health insurance.
I’d like to see more details on the scope of these tax credits. Self-insured plans can be prohibitively expensive and I’m not sure a tax credit will do much to bring those costs under control. But there will be plenty of time debate details after January 20th. At this point, it’s encouraging to see that Democrats aren’t making an immediate mad dash to the center.
