Health Care For America Now

Think Progress has new video of Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) pushing for incremental, as opposed to comprehensive health care reform:

Today, Nancy Pelosi seemed to contradict Clyburn's call for incrementalism, her spokesperson said:

There are some incremental steps that we are taking — first we did SCHIP, then in our economic recovery package, we have money to help stem the tide of people losing health insurance — coverage for Medicaid and COBRA. There is also money for quality, Health IT, comparative effectiveness and wellness, and money for prevention.

And we will take a major step forward this year to increase the number of people who have healthcare coverage.

As Igor Volsky writes, politically as well as policy-wise, comprehensive reform is the answer:

Americans understand, (far too well these days) that unemployment can lead to the loss of health insurance coverage and that an unexpected medical emergency can send a family into medical bankruptcy. Yes people need jobs, but during a time of economic crisis, they also need health insurance to protect their families from financial disaster.

It’s that kind of urgency that will make reform possible. And, politically, isn’t it the easier case to make? As Atul Gawande argues in the latest New Yorker, European nations achieved universal health insurance during a period of crisis: their reforms came out of necessity, not slow investments in community health centers and expansions of a tiny program here or there.

…

Instituting comprehensive reform is the kind of flamboyant political theater that ropes in “the incremental population.” Unfortunately, Clyburn is missing the opportunity for adopting such change. He’s sacrificing a compelling case for health care reform for what’s what’s politically comfortable.

To add to that, there's never been the kind of organization, public opinion, political will, and money on the side of quality, affordable health care for all that there is this year. If this opportunity is squandered, or if we give in to calls for incrementalism and settle for small change, it will be another twenty years at least before we have the opportunity to try again.

Barack Obama's election is historic in many ways. There is more potential for progressive change right now than there may ever be in our lifetimes. Now is not the time to shy away from a fight. As Mike Lux, who looked closely at the history in the course of writing his new book The Progressive Revolution, explained:

What history shows is that nothing important was ever done; no big change was ever made, without a knock-down, drag-out fight between progressives and conservatives.  Our ideas and attitudes and fundamental philosophies are just too different.  One side or another gains the upper-hand politically for a while, but neither side ever gives up or goes away, and the conservatives won't this time either.  We need to strike while the iron is hot, and fight like crazy to make the big changes while we can, because we will fail if we don't understand that we are still, as always, in a war of ideas.

Please give Rep. Clyburn a call at (202) 225-3315 and tell him to make no small plans. Tell him that if he stands with Speaker Pelosi and President Obama for comprehensive health care reform, you and the rest of the country will have his back.