Bush offers empty advice
Looks like the Administration is continuing its Valentine's Day efforts.
At a town hall on Wednesday, President Bush had this advice for a woman struggling to get her mother enrolled in a plan:
"Look, I'm not going to tell you your business, but I think it's your responsibility to help your mom," Bush told Wendy Meyeroff. She had asked him to consider extending the May 15 deadline for registering for the new benefit without a penalty, but Bush refused.
It appears the Administration doesn't realize that families are doing this already. Across the nation, millions of seniors are using the assistance of their children (and grandchildren) to figure out what plan to choose.
But when the average region has over 40 plans, that extra assistance often isn't enough. When it's unclear if seniors will save money from the new benefit, that help isn't enough.
Instead of granting key interest group's wishes, it's time the Administration listens to those on the front line, as well as policy experts, to figure out changes that will actually make a difference. The long-term viability of this program is essential; we can't afford to let it fail. Poor leadership and planning are the hallmarks of this Administration -- but succeeding here will damage efforts for Universal Coverage. The government can (and does) work well with health care. But when you tailor a program to special interests, an overflow of "choice", and fail to provide adequate tools to sort through the mess, government does poorly.
We've got to make this better.
Leave a comment