Obama moving quickly on health care?

President-Elect Obama has proposed significant changes to the U.S. health care system. Senator Baucus recently unveiled a 104 page health care reform plan. Aspects of the Baucus plan are strikingly similar to the Obama health care reform proposals. Some pundits have suggested that the Baucus plan may encourage an Obama Administration to move quickly on a comprehensive health care reform agenda and avoid some of the missteps that extinguished the Clinton Administration’s reform efforts.

However, a deteriorating economic climate may hamper or slow any comprehensive health care reform efforts. In fact, the economic climate may require that an Obama Administration initially concentrate on incremental change rather than sweeping reforms. Whether reform efforts are incremental or sweeping, it is likely that the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicare sustainable growth rate formula, health information technology, and payments to Medicare Advantage plans will be among the early agenda items.

Michael Apolskis JD
Michael G Apolskis PC, Health Care Law, Chicago Area