Flipping through the channels to find a game, I came across my congressman, Democrat Rep. David Price, in the middle of his weekly talk show, "Keeping in Touch." I paused just in time to hear his response to a question from "Alex" who asked (paraphrasing): "Are you in favor of universal health care and how soon will Congress move to make health care available to everyone?"
Price's answer confirmed for me: We ain't going to see universal health care anytime soon.
First, be aware that Price, due to his seniority and intelligence, is one of those influential, behind-the-scenes congressmen. He's usually on the our side of things. It's safe to assume his views are reflective of Democratic congressional leadership.
The way he answered Alex was illuminating.
I listened carefully, my curiosity stoked by recent diaries by sen bob and nyceve.
I repeat here, as reported by nyceve, the scene when Sen. Chris Dodd recently went home for a town meeting:
Dodd Hears Anger, Frustration At Meeting On Health Care
EAST HARTFORD - On the first day of a listening tour on health care, an issue pivotal to the new Congress and his own re-election, U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd got an earful Friday.
The first comment came from a furious homeless shelter manager: He and his clients have no coverage, yet insurance giant American International Group got an $85 billion federal loan.
Over 90 minutes, the Democratic senator heard from a string of constituents, who waved their hands, hoping for a chance to describe a struggle to hang onto middle-class lives after losing jobs and affordable health care. A few were angry, others just scared.
On the way out, Dodd embraced one woman who burst into tears as she described losing health coverage for her disabled 2-year-old. Dodd held her until she stopped sobbing.
http://www.courant.com/...
So, I was curious to hear how Rep. Price was going to answer Alex's question.
Alex's question couldn't have been clearer: Do you support universal health care and when will Congress move to establish universal health care?
Price's answer (I must paraphrase, as I have no transcript):
Yes, I support universal access to health care. We saw during the last campaign that health care is very important to people. President Obama made it clear that he supports universal health care coverage. But we have many important agenda items and there are many pressing things that we will have to take up first. But I anticipate that we’ll take an important step by adopting legislation that will greatly expand health care coverage for children. And we’ll probably do that this year. Then, we can build on that in the future.
But yes, I support universal health care coverage. (his emphasis)
I’m certain Alex was more interested in whether Rep. Price supported the notion of universal health care or a single-payer health care system, not universal health insurance coverage. I’m also certain Rep. Price knew that he wasn’t answering Alex’s question.
He's assuming that most people won't recognize the difference between saying "Yes, I'm in favor of universal health care" and "Yes, I'm in favor of universal health care coverage."
I'm willing to wager that as D.C. policy-making discussions turn to health care, we can look forward to more of the same: urgent and bold statements urging milquetoast solutions.