Financial Times Editorial Comment: The Democrats’ healthcare choice

Financial Times Editorial Comment: The Democrats’ healthcare choice
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010
Published: March 14 2010 18:17 | Last updated: March 14 2010 18:17
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b41692e2-2f87-11df-9153-00144feabdc0.html


Democrats wavering on US healthcare reform will come under pressure this week. President Barack Obama has postponed an Asia trip to lobby for the initiative. He has set a March 21 deadline to get the vote in. Opponents are taking their campaign to the districts of the Democrats in question, to show them that supporting the measure will mean defeat in November’s elections.

Democratic leaders face an uphill struggle. The vote on the House bill last November was close, despite the Democrats’ big majority. Touting a revised bill less to the liking of many of her troops, Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House, must stop defections among those who previously voted Yes, or persuade some who voted No to switch. The loss of the Democrats’ filibuster-proof majority in the Senate – in an election fought partly over healthcare – makes this harder. Success now depends on a complex parliamentary procedure called reconciliation. Some Democrats are nervous about resorting to it.

Ms Pelosi doubtless permitted some anxious Democrats to vote No before, once she had the necessary majority. There will be fewer such dispensations this time. But public opposition to the reform, and especially to the method being used to get it passed, is not softening: if anything, the opposite.

The fact is that for some of the Democrats whose votes will be needed, supporting this measure will indeed mean losing in November. That is a lot to ask of any politician. But, remembering what is at stake, not too much.

The critical failure throughout has been neglect of public opinion. Initial strong support for reform, and continuing support for reform in principle, have been squandered during a year of solipsistic wrangling. With elections every two years, the House of Representatives is exquisitely sensitive to the public’s mood. Passing this reform in the teeth of public scepticism is something the system resists.

If reform falters now, it may be years before the next attempt to mend the broken US healthcare system. That is unacceptable. A merged House-Senate bill will be an imperfect measure. Repairs will have to start as soon as the law is passed. But vital principles, assuring wider insurance coverage and creating incentives for greater efficiency, will be entrenched.

Democrats have bungled the job. They have only themselves to blame for having to sacrifice seats to get this reform through. In the public interest, it is a sacrifice they must be willing to make.