The Great Debate

by digby

I was skeptical that health care would actually be tackled in a Democratic first term without a recession driving it and now, for obvious reasons, I think it may actually happen. Polls are showing that the economy and health care are the two top issues in the election.

The fact is that they are intertwined. The American system of employer based health care is falling apart. Big companies are being squeezed by retiree health benefits and small businesses are drowning in health care costs. And needless to say, being unemployed means saying goodbye to your health insurance (or COBRA costs that are obscene.) Add that to the huge number of underinsured and uninsured and you have the makings of a full fledged emergency.

With the economy in turmoil, the question at this point is no longer if, but how. The Institute For America’s Future is featuring another in its series of series of New York Times op-ed ads to spur the debate:

The idea behind this initiative is to spur debate so, if you tag your posts
“debateweneed” (or for Twitter posts, #dwn), they will be highlighted
at http://institute.ourfuture.org , where additional background and
commentary related to the Op-Ad will be featured.

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