Can history repeat itself? When it comes to healthcare reform, let’s hope so.
The parallels are striking. A young, charismatic president. A “special address to Congress.” A time of national uncertainty.
Barack Obama on healthcare reform? No. John Kennedy on the space race. On May 25th, 1961, JFK intoned:
“Let it be clear--and this is a judgment which the Members of the Congress must finally make--let it be clear that I am asking the Congress and the country to accept a firm commitment to a new course of action--a course which will last for many years and carry very heavy costs”
Sound familiar?
“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”
And we did it. Even though the science and the engineering didn’t exist and the costs seemed prohibitive. We did it.
Can we do it again? Can we reform our healthcare system “before this decade is out? – even though it will certainly “last for many years and carry very heavy costs.” Do we have the national fortitude?
Yes we can. If we learn nothing from the current stalemate, it’s that healthcare reform is not going to emerge, fully formed from the head of Zeus (or Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid or Peter Orszag – or Barack Obama).
Rather healthcare reform must be a thoughtful, iterative process. That’s not as sexy a political soundbite as “universal coverage” or “drug importation” – but it is reality. And those who ignore reality do so at their own peril. Hello Massachusetts.
In 1961, nobody in that joint session of Congress disagreed that we should put a man on the moon. Nobody shouted “liar” when the president presented his goals along with a detailed budgetary request – a behemoth $531 million in fiscal 1962 and an estimated $7-9 billion more over the next five years.
And there lies the biggest asymmetry between JFK’s challenge and President Obama’s September 9, 2009 Joint Session speech on healthcare reform – personal ownership and a detailed plan. Kennedy’s remarks followed a thorough investigation by an appointed Space Council chaired by Vice President Lyndon Johnson.
Just as with the issue of putting a man on the moon, healthcare reform is as much about vision as it is about engineering. In 1961 the pledge was made before the mechanics existed to make it happen. But that’s what challenges are all about. Reach. Stretch. Delta.
Similarly with healthcare reform, the promise must be made – all Americans must have access to quality and affordable healthcare. Healthcare reform is no different. The challenge is big and many of the tools are nascent (i.e., molecular diagnostics).
And, like the space race, the solution must be “elegant engineering” – a term that could hardly be applied to the current legislative packages passed by the House and Senate. Legislative sausage didn’t put a man on the moon. Neither will it deliver long-term healthcare reform.
Putting a man on the moon wasn’t about “good guys” (Democrats) wanting it and “bad guys” (Republicans) in opposition. And that’s not the case with healthcare reform either. The cynical politics of healthcare reform must end. All the more reason not to think about Scott Brown as the 41st vote against healthcare reform, but rather the first vote towards a new, more thoughtful approach.
