Healthcare Reform: Competition and the 'Public Option'
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The debate over healthcare reform is coming down to the wire at the White House, in Congress and in the media. We look at the pros and cons of the so-called "public option" and at the influence of ideology and money. Also, the Supreme Court rules strip search of student is unreasonable, and another politician betrays his wife. Did Governor Mark Sanford also damage the Republican Party?
Banner image: Chuck Kennedy, White House
Making News
Supreme Court Rules Strip Search of Student Unreasonable ()
The US Supreme Court today upheld the rights of students to be protected from unreasonable search in the case of a 13-year old girl who was stripped by school authorities in Arizona. Jess Bravin covers the court for the Wall Street Journal.
Guests:
- Jess Bravin: Reporter, Wall Street Journal, @JessBravin
Main Topic
Healthcare Reform: Competition and the 'Public Option' ()
Last night, ABC News televised a so-called "town hall" from the Obama White House. Today on Capitol Hill, committees were meeting both in public and behind closed doors while thousands rallied on the streets outside. There's a rare consensus in Washington that this is the moment for healthcare reform if Congress takes action before the end of this year. With protracted wrangling, the opportunity could be lost, and debate has bogged down over a public plan to compete with private insurance. Would it help maintain high quality at reduced cost? Would it drive insurance companies out of the healthcare business? We look at the pros and cons and at competing efforts to shape a winning message. What are the roles of ideology, media manipulation and money?
Guests:
- Drew Armstrong: Healthcare Reporter, Congressional Quarterly
- Richard Kirsch: National Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now
- Michael Cannon: Director of Health Policy Studies, Cato Institute
- William Allison: Senior Fellow, Sunlight Foundation, @bill_allison
- Wendell Potter: Senior Fellow, Center for Media and Democracy
Links:
- Congressional Budget Office on cost of Obama's proposed healthcare reform
- Center for Responsive Politics tracking of Congressional representatives healthcare cash
- CQ article on Senators trying to rein in healthcare costs
- Cato Institute on healthcare reform
- Sunlight Foundation's 'Political Party Time'
- Potter's blog on the healthcare industry and health reform
Reporter's Notebook
Governor Sanford and the Republican Party ()
Family values took another hit yesterday from the Governor of South Carolina, who explained his week-long disappearance as a tryst with a mistress in Argentina. Mark Sanford apologized to his wife, his sons, his staff and "anybody who lives in South Carolina," before he got to the point about where he had been and why he went there. Dana Milbank is a national political reporter for the Washington Post.
Guests:
- Dana Milbank: National Political Reporter, Washington Post, @Milbank
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