Legal Commentary

Will The Exchanges Become Like Medicare?

By Big Tent Democrat

Ezra Klein writes:

For some time, I've been trying to find good polling from the passage of Medicare. According to Greg Sargent, though, the Democrats beat me to it [. . .] I wonder how many of the legislators who took the tough vote to move Medicare forward regret doing that today.

The problem with this analogy for me is this - where is the Medicare-like program in the health bills? Klein loves the exchanges - I venture to say that for him it was the one dealbreaker in the health bills. Klein imagines a future where employer-based health insurance is replaced by individual health insurance policies sold through the exchanges the current proposals set up. I do not think much of this reform approach and do not see it as the Medicare-like proposal that will become unassailable decades from now. In the end, when it comes to the "reform" that is being proposed, what you think about the exchanges will determine whether you believe this is "historic" legislation akin to Medicare. I don't think it is and I do not think this is "historic" legislation.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on March 17, 2010 (boomark / email).