Wasn't This Supposed to Be the Easy Part?

Bob Laszewski has many great observations on the attempted lobbyist takedown of the HealthIT and comparative effectiveness research portions of the Economic Recovery Act.  But his best comment is, “And, these were supposed to be the easy parts of health care reform. I am again reminded of all the reports in recent months about how different the 2009 version of health care reform will be with the special interests really ready to cooperate.”  Bob’s absolutely right – one of the subthemes in the media for the past six months (along with the “will health care need to take a back seat to the economy” drivel) has been “all parties are coming to the table.”  But the moneyed interests couldn’t maintain their “coming to the table” posture for more than two weeks into the Obama Administration.  We have the fight on our hands that we expected to all along.

We had thoughts that it might be better.  After all, the election of the Obama with his themes of hope and change carried with it an implicit reconciliation guarantee – that he would bring people together, work with everyone and find common ground.  The news about Ted Kennedy, working solely on health care reform since being diagnosed with a brain tumor, followed a similar script.  He was meeting with all the parties, we were told, including the drug and pharmaceutical industries.  The American Health Insurance Plans released their own proposal in December, proclaiming 2009 to be the year of health care reform.  Visions of relative consensus, or at least large swaths of common ground, began to dance in our heads.

Perhaps it’s kind to be robbed of these illusions now, before the major push for health care reform has begun.  If so, we owe thanks to the drug and medical device makers for making it so clear who’s side they’re really on.  After all, investment in Health IT was embraced by the presidential candidates from both parties… heck, it was embraced by Rudy Guiliani.  Comparative effectiveness research was similarly the key to both party’s campaign pledge to contain costs, as well as vague promises of tying compensation to health outcomes.  If ever there was ideological common ground, not to mention common sense, it would be on these two items.  The fact that pharma and medical device lobbyists are attacking them so mercilessly, and is happy to smear the intent of the programs and greatly exaggerate its effect, shows their true colors.  If they can’t come along with us on this, what reform would they be happy with?  The only answer is:  one that doesn’t touch their profits.

Sun Tzu in The Art of War says, “Knowing the other and knowing yourself, in one hundred battles no danger.”  We now know their commitment to health care reform – and it simply does not work.

(Photo credit:  CarbonNYC on Flickr.)