More than a dozen years ago I interviewed Henry Aaron at the Democrat
oriented Brookings Institute in Washington D.C.. Mr. Aaron was at the
time the most knowledgeable expert on health care and public policy.
Now with more than twenty years of hands-on policy experience Mr. Aaron explains why we will never have a national health plan and why we will get very little change of any sort in the future. Here is a pithy exerpt:
"The U.S. political system is exquisitely structured to frustrate action on large and controversial matters on which there is not overwhelming agreement. Party discipline is an oxymoron. Congressional committee chairmen can and do block action that the majority of their party embraces. The political composition of the two houses of Congress requires that to get majorities, both large and small states, despite their often conflicting interests, must make common cause. Senate rules require super-majority support for any controversial action. And all elected officials persistently obey the political corollary of the Hippocratic oath: Do not be seen to do obvious harm."