Reform Isn’t Always About Health

Why do trout always head towards land? Why have mice never learned to avoid traps? Why will the United States’ healthcare insurance reforms always crash into the same brick wall?

I regret to have to admit to you that there exists no totally satisfactory response to these questions. Especially for health insurance in the United States, which replays the same episode every 10 or 15 years.

The most surprising thing, yet again this year, is not that things are heating up. Or that certain opponents accuse the government of wanting to euthanize the elderly. The most surprising thing is not even that the insurance lobby spends 1.4 million dollars per day in order to drag down the project.

What leaves one flabbergasted is that the Obama administration could have thought that its project would not spark the same fierce opposition as those that preceded it.

History repeats itself. That’s normal, because no one pays any attention.

For a century, in order to prevent the establishment of a national health insurance system in the United States, no holds have been barred.

Since 1917, several states toyed with the idea. But the insurance industry’s response was ferocious. The reformers were accused of promoting communism, or of wanting to destroy the soul of the United States. A flyer was entitled: “Socialist Leaders Endorse the Project; the Majority Opposes It.”

The tone was set. Since then, nearly all presidents have had to admit themselves defeated, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, who abandoned his plan so as not to damage his other reforms.

The conquest list of the “anti” includes, notably, Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter. Lyndon B. Johnson was one of the few to achieve any success, especially aimed at the elderly.

From the famous commentary of an opponent: “I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.”

In his book Woman in Charge, Carl Bernstein recounted a visit made by Hillary Clinton to Seattle in 1993 to promote her health insurance reform. Any resemblance to 2009 would be purely coincidental.

“By the time the caravan had reached Seattle, the threats of violence had become constant. All week long the trash radio presenters […] had begged their listeners to go […] show Hillary ‘what they were made of.’ […] Half of the 4,500 people who came to listen were protesters. For the first time ever, she agreed to wear a bullet-proof vest. She had rarely felt herself in danger, but this time, it was different. During her speech, whistles, shouts and noise covered her words. When she left the platform to move towards her limousine, hundreds of protesters surrounded the car. […] Several arrests were made […]. At least two guns and a knife were recovered.”

“Of all the contemporary illusions, the most dangerous is without doubt that which supposes that everything that happens to us is new […], to the point where the past will no longer have anything to teach us,” wrote author Tony Judt, in his book Reappraisals.

But look instead.

A month ago, the Obama administration very nicely lined up its arguments, like lead soldiers. It repeated that the American system proves to be the most costly in the world. It reminded that 47 million citizens have no insurance. Without counting the fact that in 2007, two-thirds of bankruptcies were caused by illness.

Last week, President Obama was reduced to defending himself against wanting to “unplug” grandmas. At this rate, nothing is left but to conclude, a la Jerry Lewis: “For those who understand, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not understand, no explanation will be sufficient.”