INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: COMMON GROUND ON HEALTH CARE FROM A SMALL SENATE OFFICE

Big insurance companies, lobbyists for consumers, doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies have finally reached enough consensus to declare that comprehensive health care legislation should include a requirement that every American carry insurance.  The consensus has allowed this motley group of actors to focus on what’s next:  how to enforce the requirement for everyone to have health insurance; how to make insurance affordable to the uninsured; and whether to require employers to help buy coverage for their employees.  This set of negotiations on the future of health care differs from those during the Clinton administration because the health insurance companies are not demonized but brought into the negotiations. 

Question to the Blogosphere:  Does including the health insurance companies in discussions over the future of health care in the United States mean that the policies created by this group will be more lasting than efforts in the past?  The meetings of this diverse group were conducted in secret, why do you think that is important?  Is it?  What other issues are affected by the type of health care reform this group advocates?  (immigration, children without parents)