[To be clear, I am an ardent supporter of reform, I just know it is going to be a whole lot tougher than simply getting everyone to agree that more competition for coverage/premium revenue dollars will be a good thing.] In about three hours, President Obama will address the AMA here in Chicago. I may stop by, grab a press credential, and live blog it. We’ll see. In the event that I get stuck doing other things, here is this week’s YouTube HD address, which is (mostly) on this very same topic. Here is what The Wall Street Journal carried yesterday, in advance of the President’s “kick-off” at the AMA:
. . . .Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that in many markets, private insurers currently have no competitors, giving them wide latitude to raise premiums on customers. She said a government-run option, as long as it followed the same rules as private providers, would force such insurers to lower prices to keep existing customers.
“Most Americans understand that choice and competition is what we want,” Ms. Sebelius said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “You can write the rules for a level playing field. The president does not want to dismantle privately owned plans. . . . He wants to strengthen the marketplace.”
Ms. Sebelius’s remarks came ahead of a major address by Mr. Obama before the American Medical Association scheduled for Monday, in which he is expected to try to bring new momentum to his health-care overhaul plans. . . .
