Five Health Care Promises Obama Won't Keep
This story was written by CBSNews.com political reporter Stephanie Condon.
On the campaign trail last year, President Obama laid out several specific promises for health care -- both during the Democratic primaries and during the general election campaign. And in his first year in office, President Obama has made comprehensive health care reform the centerpiece of his domestic agenda.
But what happened to those promises?
To his credit, Mr. Obama has come closer to achieving many of those promises than many may have expected him to. For instance, the Congress is well on its way to facilitating health care coverage for nearly all Americans, providing subsidies for people who cannot afford insurance, implementing consumer protections, boosting federal funding for prevention and wellness programs, giving tax credits to small businesses that provide their employees with health coverage and implementing health information technology systems.
However, even though there is plenty of work left for Congress before it can put a health care bill on Mr. Obama's desk the bills in development indicate that some of Mr. Obama's promises may be long gone. Here is a look at five of Mr. Obama's health care campaign promises that are unlikely to come to fruition.
1. No Individual Mandate
During the 2008 Democratic primary, Mr. Obama and then-Sen. Hillary Clinton both shared the goal of health care reform. By Mr. Obama's own admission, the biggest difference between the two candidates was that Clinton supported a mandate for all Americans to acquire health care.
"Now, under any mandate, you are going to have problems with people who don't end up having health coverage," Mr. Obama said during a debate with Clinton on Jan. 31, 2008. "I think we can anticipate that there would also be people potentially who are not covered and are actually hurt if they have a mandate imposed on them."
CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care
Under the leadership of the late-Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), however, Congress wrote bills that called for an individual mandate. In June, the president indicated in a letter to Kennedy and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) that he was changing his tune to accommodate their legislation.
"I understand the committees are moving towards a principle of shared responsibility -- making every American responsible for having health insurance coverage," he wrote. "I share the goal of ending lapses and gaps in coverage that make us less healthy and drive up everyone's costs, and I am open to your ideas on shared responsibility."
The president now fully supports an individual mandate.
"The only way this plan works is if everybody fulfills their responsibility," he said at a rally Thursday.
2. Complete Transparency
Candidate Obama promised that health care deliberations with Congress and special interests would be transparent to the extreme.
"That's what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are," Mr. Obama said during his Jan. 31, 2008 debate with Clinton. "Because part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process. And overcoming the special interests and the lobbyists who -- Senator Clinton is right. They will resist anything that we try to do."
The president, members of Congress from both parties and special interest groups have indeed all participated in negotiations, but those conversations have not been broadcast. Instead, the president has announced deals with groups like the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry after they were worked out in backroom deals.
Meanwhile, Baucus, one of the most influential senators in the health care debate, not only shut out the public but shut out most of his own committee from his "bipartisan negotiations."
"We spent virtually an entire year with most of the Finance Committee being excluded," Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) reportedly said after Baucus released his health care bill. "You don't run a committee that way."
3. Enable the Government to Directly Negotiate Drug Prices
In the Jan. 31, 2008 debate, Mr. Obama said, "If a drug company -- if the drug companies or a member of Congress who's carrying water for the drug companies wants to argue that we should not negotiate for the cheapest available price on drugs, then I want them to make that argument in front of the American people."
"We'll negotiate with the drug companies for the cheapest available price on drugs," Mr. Obama said again in an Oct. 15, 2008 debate with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
It turns out, however, Mr. Obama reneged on this promise in a secretive way. In July the president praised the drug industry for its agreement to reduce its revenues by $80 billion over 10 years by discounting the cost of medicines for some seniors. After Congress sought to extract further funds from the pharmaceutical industry, however, it was revealed that the White House made some previously undisclosed deals to get the industry to stay at the negotiating table.
"The White House had tracked the negotiations throughout, assenting to decisions to move away from ideas like the government negotiation of prices or the importation of cheaper drugs from Canada," the New York Times reported.
4. Allow Drug Importation
During the campaign, Mr. Obama said his plan (PDF) would "Allow consumers to import safe drugs from other countries" because "some companies are exploiting Americans by dramatically overcharging U.S. consumers."
As noted above, the Obama administration secretly conceded to forgo the importation of cheaper drugs in its deal with the pharmaceutical industry.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. On the campaign trail last year, President Obama laid out several specific promises for health care -- both during the Democratic primaries and during the general election campaign. And in his first year in office, President Obama has made comprehensive health care reform the centerpiece of his domestic agenda.
But what happened to those promises?
To his credit, Mr. Obama has come closer to achieving many of those promises than many may have expected him to. For instance, the Congress is well on its way to facilitating health care coverage for nearly all Americans, providing subsidies for people who cannot afford insurance, implementing consumer protections, boosting federal funding for prevention and wellness programs, giving tax credits to small businesses that provide their employees with health coverage and implementing health information technology systems.
However, even though there is plenty of work left for Congress before it can put a health care bill on Mr. Obama's desk the bills in development indicate that some of Mr. Obama's promises may be long gone. Here is a look at five of Mr. Obama's health care campaign promises that are unlikely to come to fruition.
1. No Individual Mandate
During the 2008 Democratic primary, Mr. Obama and then-Sen. Hillary Clinton both shared the goal of health care reform. By Mr. Obama's own admission, the biggest difference between the two candidates was that Clinton supported a mandate for all Americans to acquire health care.
"Now, under any mandate, you are going to have problems with people who don't end up having health coverage," Mr. Obama said during a debate with Clinton on Jan. 31, 2008. "I think we can anticipate that there would also be people potentially who are not covered and are actually hurt if they have a mandate imposed on them."
CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care
Under the leadership of the late-Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), however, Congress wrote bills that called for an individual mandate. In June, the president indicated in a letter to Kennedy and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) that he was changing his tune to accommodate their legislation.
"I understand the committees are moving towards a principle of shared responsibility -- making every American responsible for having health insurance coverage," he wrote. "I share the goal of ending lapses and gaps in coverage that make us less healthy and drive up everyone's costs, and I am open to your ideas on shared responsibility."
The president now fully supports an individual mandate.
"The only way this plan works is if everybody fulfills their responsibility," he said at a rally Thursday.
2. Complete Transparency
Candidate Obama promised that health care deliberations with Congress and special interests would be transparent to the extreme.
"That's what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are," Mr. Obama said during his Jan. 31, 2008 debate with Clinton. "Because part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process. And overcoming the special interests and the lobbyists who -- Senator Clinton is right. They will resist anything that we try to do."
The president, members of Congress from both parties and special interest groups have indeed all participated in negotiations, but those conversations have not been broadcast. Instead, the president has announced deals with groups like the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry after they were worked out in backroom deals.
Meanwhile, Baucus, one of the most influential senators in the health care debate, not only shut out the public but shut out most of his own committee from his "bipartisan negotiations."
"We spent virtually an entire year with most of the Finance Committee being excluded," Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) reportedly said after Baucus released his health care bill. "You don't run a committee that way."
3. Enable the Government to Directly Negotiate Drug Prices
In the Jan. 31, 2008 debate, Mr. Obama said, "If a drug company -- if the drug companies or a member of Congress who's carrying water for the drug companies wants to argue that we should not negotiate for the cheapest available price on drugs, then I want them to make that argument in front of the American people."
"We'll negotiate with the drug companies for the cheapest available price on drugs," Mr. Obama said again in an Oct. 15, 2008 debate with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
It turns out, however, Mr. Obama reneged on this promise in a secretive way. In July the president praised the drug industry for its agreement to reduce its revenues by $80 billion over 10 years by discounting the cost of medicines for some seniors. After Congress sought to extract further funds from the pharmaceutical industry, however, it was revealed that the White House made some previously undisclosed deals to get the industry to stay at the negotiating table.
"The White House had tracked the negotiations throughout, assenting to decisions to move away from ideas like the government negotiation of prices or the importation of cheaper drugs from Canada," the New York Times reported.
4. Allow Drug Importation
During the campaign, Mr. Obama said his plan (PDF) would "Allow consumers to import safe drugs from other countries" because "some companies are exploiting Americans by dramatically overcharging U.S. consumers."
As noted above, the Obama administration secretly conceded to forgo the importation of cheaper drugs in its deal with the pharmaceutical industry.
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It sounds like Ms. Condon may have not done her homework...
capitalism hinders the heart's RESOURCES from being EMPLOYED toward the well-being of those you care for......LIMITATIONS !
if it not be true...then why is everything hindered by a lack of capital $, from the HOMELESS to the U.S. GOVERNMENT ? !!!
and that's not speaking of the welfare of other nations, countries, and peoples. it doesn't matter if your CAPITALIST or SOCIALIST !
it doesn't matter if your a DEMOCRATIC nation or a COMMUNIST nation! CAPITALISM HINDERS ALL PEOPLE !
capitalism hinders the heart's resources from being employed toward the well-being of those you care for......LIMITATIONS !
it it not be true...then why is everything hindered by the lack of capital $ from the homeless to the U.S.GOVERNMENT !?
and that's not speaking of the welfare of other nations, countries, and peoples. it doesn't matter if your capitalist or socialist!
it doesn't matter if your a democratic nation or a communist nation. CAPITALISM HINDERS ALL PEOPLE !
then, we've obeyed what was counciled out of the mouth of moses, who spoke about meetng a stranger along the way...reflecting on our own personal (isreal's) experiences of hardship and suffering (in egypt) and being without someone who cared for our own well-being in a time of need. saying, remember what it was like for yourself...opening your heart of compassion as well as your hand and give to the need of the stranger, remembering how it was, that there was not anyone to help in your times of need, past. relating it to your neighbors, strangers, family and friend's need at present. that there may not of been someone to help in there own present need, if you don't.
that's what it means, to fulfill the law and the prophets...loving your neighbor as yourself, treating them with the same care, you yourself had need of in a time of need, so that you can recieve help in your needs.
the measure you meet out you will recieve back to your own need from your neighbors MULTIPIED!...speaking of karma, sowing and reaping. karma is one's own livelihood based upon one's relationships with family, freinds and neighbors, as well as his god. it's the dispostion of our circumstances. he who sows to the well-being of another's good, then we will recieve it back again in due course of time from many of our neighbors. it's that easy to be a benefit to others as well as being benefited, enriching and being enriched.
then all else being things(food, shelter, clothing,) will fall into it's rightful place (priority) in our lives and in all our relationships, administered in love to one another.
Please do not be intimidated or frightened by the insurance company/GOP tactics of fear mongering. It's despicable, but they will get to you any way they can.
Please also remember it was Democrats (FDR and LBJ) who brought Social Security and Medicare to seniors, not the Republicans.
Republicans would have you working until the day you died without any safety net. Just a couple of years ago the Republicans wanted to privatize everything. How might that have worked out with the stock market crash and the Bush recession that has followed?
Just a couple of thoughts to keep in mind.
I'm also not surprised that Obama supporters commenting here continue to make excuses for him. They can't even see that his back room deal with BigPharma, fixing drug prices, is an obvious violation of all he claims to care about in saving consumers money on health care, and a violation of his much hyped "transparency", which has never been shown yet, even as the article denotes the lack of "transparency".
This whole thing is nothing but an attempt to have complete government control of our health care, which amounts to complete government control of our very lives, and you people can't see that. No. it's all Glenn Beck's fault, and conservatives' fault, and the Republican party's fault, and TEA party protesters' fault, when the candidate and the President lies, and tries to turn us into a socialist state.
When the government has the power to give you everything you want, it also has the power to take everything away from you. That's the kind of power you shouldn't want the government to have over you.
it's good to see and hear about those who show how valuable a man is, like jack herer (as a example) by their' donations of money toward the hospital cost, but here we also have a show of those who wouldn't lift a finger to help a man in his need, unless compensated with money...VALUES ! man vs. gold !
we, mankind, have placed value on things like gold, when we should rather place our value and standard toward the well-being of each other and raise that standard alone.
that's what i would call true health-care all around the earth, where no ones left out, because their' well-being is the standard in us !
gold should be lowered to the statis of just being a common thing !
my friend, jack herer's life is worth more than capitalsm's standard of what's valuable.
capitalism robs all mankind of the dignity due them...that means: "being valued by those around them".
an example of those who's dignity have been stolen from are the homeless. does anyone really care for there well-being?
the homeless are always being run off by the establishment of capitalism with police-force backing !
how just is capitalism ? seeing that it robs another ? of even life itself ! gold was more valuable than the lives of san salvodor in the day that columbus' ship arrived. the same with north america from the east coast to the west coast. how many died because their neighbor saw gold as being more valuable than themselves ?
capitalism is like a wrentch in the gear-works of every human relationship. it hinders everyone !
capitalism keeps one from even meeting the needs of another, including one's own needs...
my friend is more valuable than the standard capitalism has raised !