ON Wednesday, representatives of the nation’s hospitals gathered with Vice President Joe Biden at the White House, solemnly vowing to help defray health-care costs. The hospitals agreed to give up $155 billion over 10 years in future Medicare and Medicaid payments — a negligible amount in the larger scheme of things.
The photo op provided the White House with some good visuals, but it won’t fix the administration’s main problem vis-a-vis health-care reform: President Obama is harping on a message that has failed to catch fire among voters.
An analysis of a new poll from the centrist think tank Third Way finds that Obama needs to radically alter how he’s selling his plan to America.
Obama’s central message so far has focused on the promise of lower costs for health coverage and more accessibility. But the poll (conducted by the Benenson Strategy Group) suggests that these aren’t the most potent issues.
In fact, a mere 29 percent of respondents agreed with the promise that their premiums would go down as a consequence of reform. And regarding “accessibility,” only 9 percent said that in the last five years they were without coverage all or most of the time.
Moreover, when asked, “Who do you think will benefit most from reform?” a whopping 60 percent chose “other people, but not [me].”
Third Way labels this the “what’s in it for me?” phenomenon. It argues that Obama must convince the middle class — which largely has health care and is satisfied with that care — that his plan would benefit them.
Third Way noted that “For the last 35 years, the health-reform debate has focused almost exclusively on covering the uninsured — and that often does not directly apply to the middle class.”
This doesn’t mean that people don’t care about the tens of millions without insurance. But, in the end, people are motivated mainly by self-interest. If they feel that this is an issue affecting “other people,” then they’ll be less motivated to support Obama’s extensive and yes, expensive, health-care overhaul.
Health-care reform advocates may dismiss this argument by saying that, unlike in 1992, America is up in arms about health care and that the political will now exists to do something big to fix the problem. Sorry: The Third Way analysis doesn’t bear that out.
It finds that “public support for health-care reform is at almost exactly the same level today as it was in 1992. Sixty-three percent of Americans now support reform, compared to 65 percent who supported “national health insurance” in January 1992.
The lesson? Don’t confuse “supporting” reform with “wanting” it.
Third Way urges Obama to turn what it calls “passive supporters” into “active advocates.” If he doesn’t, he stands to lose the battle.
Its recommendation? Promise the middle class “stability.”
When asked to choose the best reason to support health-care reform, 34 percent chose “it will provide stable health coverage that can’t be taken away.” Only 12 percent chose “pay less in premiums,” and 7 percent chose “it will grow the economy.” Eighteen percent said that “health care is a moral right.”
The survey found that “42 percent of people who are currently covered changed coverage at least once in the last five years. For 57 percent of them, this change was involuntary. Among those who are currently covered, 38 percent said they are worried that they will lose coverage over the next five years.”
So, Third Way advises Obama to “make a significant offer of personal benefit to the middle class” in the form of “stable coverage, stable costs and stable quality.” Obama should “paint a vivid portrait of the consequences of inaction.”
It warns: “Opponents of reform paint a picture of the future that is about high costs, government rationing, lack of choice and long lines. Supporters of reform must paint a picture without reform as one of instability — higher costs, spottier coverage, less control over your health care.”
In short, don’t let the GOP do all the fear-mongering.
kirstenpowers@aol.com