Today’s Opinions And Editorials
Obama's Summit Los Angeles TimesRather than having an all-or-nothing debate over comprehensive reform, we should be combining the best ideas for how to do it (2/23).
Democrats: Find Your Spines And Pass Health Reform The Washington Post
Now that President Obama has finally put a health-care proposal on the table, the Democratic leadership in Congress has only one rational course of action: Pass the thing, and quickly, or risk becoming the loyal minority (Eugene Robinson, 2/23).
ObamaCare At Ramming Speed The Wall Street Journal
This new White House gambit is merely a preview of ObamaCare's inevitable planned medical economy, which will reduce choice and quality (2/23).
As Health Costs Keep Rising, Obama Is Right To Try Again The Boston Globe
For all the Republican rhetoric criticizing health reform as a government takeover of health care, the House and Senate bills really went out of their way to keep the free market in play. The plan President Obama unveiled yesterday does enhance government's power -- by giving it authority to deny excessive premium increases by insurers. (2/23).
Into The Mire The New York Times
The White House, to its enormous credit, has tried to think about the long term. But it has been dragged ever lower into the mire by Congressional special interests that are parochial in the extreme (David Brooks, 2/22).
The President's Plan The New York Times
It is a relief to see Mr. Obama fully engaged (2/22).
Consensus Politics Can Go A Long Way Politico
Bipartisanship generally has become an epithet in President Barack Obama's Washington. Yet whatever the summit's pros and cons, analysts have lost sight of the more subtle ways in which a political consensus can, at times, surface and have a salutary effect on America's most polarizing issues (Matthew Dallek, 2/23).
On Health Care, Mr. Obama Lets The Next President Do The Hard Stuff The Washington Post
Mr. Obama, following the advice of nearly every economist who has examined the issue, identified a tax on high-cost insurance plans as a key mechanism for curbing the growth of health-care costs. He was right. Unfortunately, in the legislative process the tax already was whittled down several times. Now the president proposes delaying it until 2018 - long after he leaves office - and raising the threshold at which it applies (2/23). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.