So far, the uninsured remain pretty confused and uncertain about signing up for Obamacare, if they've even heard of it. So the White House is launching a big effort to both get the word out, and to correct all the lies that have been swirling about the law since it passed in 2010. To that end, President Obama sat down with President Clinton on Tuesday at the annual Clinton Global Initiatives conference to
chat about the law.
The two leaders sat side by side in a pair of overstuffed armchairs at the Clinton Global Initiative for a televised—if somewhat wonky—conversation about health care economics.
It's the nature of insurance, Obama said, for healthy people to subsidize those who need more care. Clinton says that's why it's important to get healthy young people enrolled in the insurance exchanges.
"This only works, for example, if young people show up," said Clinton. "We've got to have them in the pools. Because otherwise all these projected low costs cannot be held if older people with pre-existing conditions are disproportionately represented in any given state."
Clinton understands those economics, having launched his own, unsuccessful push for universal coverage 20 years ago this week. Obama got further, pushing his bill through Congress, but he notes the battle to implement the law is far from over: "Let's face it: It's been a little political, this whole Obamacare thing."
Wonkiness aside, the two did talk about the basic social contract that binds us, about how essential basic health care is to the country as a whole and how the full participation of the population in it will make it fairer and more affordable for everyone. The discussion could have been a little heavier on the values and less on the wonky side of things to highlight the values argument, because both men are more than capable of delivering an effective values pitch. That's what's been missing in this debate, which has been dominated by the Republican message of selfishness and fear.