Health care reform: will it be deja vu all over again?

Lorell LaBoube
January 9, 2009

Seems like just yesterday that this writer was in the middle of the health care reform debate – circa 1992 and 1993, that is. Those were the days of Harry and Louise nationally (remember those TV ads?) and an effort by Governor Mel Carnahan to reform healthcare in Missouri.

At the time I was director of public affairs for the Metropolitan Medical Society of Greater Kansas City. There were many trips with physicians to Washington DC and to Jefferson City. There were public forums and many interviews with the news media. Doctors, patients, insurance companies and others were determined to make their voices heard.

We can expect the same this time around with a new president and new Democratic Party majority in Congress. (Sound familiar?)

That said, with this blog we begin the Center’s effort to serve as a place for ethical discussion during the health care reform debate. You will see and hear commentary from people like John Lantos, MD, the Center’s John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics. He was a member of Hillary Clinton’s task force on healthcare reform.

We will provide links to headlines on the latest developments. And opportunities for you to comment on these developments as they unfold.

Will it be déjà vu all over again? Let us know what you think.

Click here to view and share your comments.

Links:

Video: Why healthcare reform comes so hard, interview with Steven Schroeder, MD, speaker at the Center’s 2008 Flanigan Lecture. (8 minutes 52 seconds)

Daschle Lays Out a Plan to Overhaul Health Care, New York Times, January 9