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Obama Praised Daschle's Federal Health Board Idea

By Philip Klein on 11.25.08 @ 10:52AM

Barack Obama said earlier this year that Tom Daschle's idea of creating a Federal Health Board (modeled after the Federal Reserve) to manage the nation's medical system showed "great promise."

"The American health care system is in crisis, and workable solutions have been blocked for years by deeply entrenched ideological divisions," Obama wrote in a blurb on the back of Daschle's book, Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis. "Sen. Daschle brings fresh thinking to this problem, and his Federal Reserve for Health concept holds great promise for bridging this intellectual chasm and, at long last, giving this nation the health care it deserves."

Now that Daschle is expected to shepard Obama's health care plan through Congress as Secretary of Health and Human Services this takes on an added importance.

Here's how Daschle described the idea in his book:

"Like the Federal Reserve, the Federal Health Board would be composed of highly independent experts insulated from politics. Congress and the White House would relinquish some of their health-policy decisions to it. For example, a shift to a more effective drug service would be accomplished without an act of Congress or the White House."

However benign Daschle tries to make the idea sound, just as, over time, the power of the Federal Reserve grew dramatically beyond its original intentions (ironically, the more it messed up, the more power it got) its easy to see the Federal Health Board morph into an all-powerful entity dictating every aspect of health policy over time, with limited oversight, as America marches toward a socialized system. This is a scary thought, and it's at the heart of Daschle's health-care policy vision, which President-elect Obama is sympathetic to.

View all comments (7) | Leave a comment

Crusader| 11.25.08 @ 1:24PM

With obamanation everything is "in crisis," "crumbling" (our roads are, doncha know?), etc etc doom and gloom ad nauseum.

Considering anyone of any means, insurance or not, can walk into any hospital in this great country of ours and get health care, I dare say we are not "in crisis."

What's "in crisis" is the situation my brother is in. He's an ex-pat living in Sweden. His kids have been on the waiting list for braces for...2 and a half YEARS! But hey, I bet Sweden has a cool Health Board who oversees those waiting lists like a mutha!

Bullpup| 11.25.08 @ 3:43PM

Just what we needed- Unelected and unaccountable boards of "highly independant experts" (bwhaahhahahahah, cough, cough, bwahahahahaha) to dictate health policy.

Financial "experts" just gave us the worst destruction of wealth ever known in the history of man. I can't wait till they get their hands on health care!

William| 11.25.08 @ 4:40PM

For every few large companies or insurers who innovate with aggressive market solutions, there are always 100 who do nothing and coast. The only way to advance markets is to have standards used by all players. Without this it's just chaos.

Larry| 11.25.08 @ 5:26PM

This is too rich. A Federal Reserve for Health? If this is like the Fed, the whole health care system should come crashing down in about six months. Especially coming from a knucklehead like Daschle, who probably had his book ghostwritten for him many times over by whatever policy wonk is on his staff.

physician| 11.25.08 @ 8:22PM

I love that someone is finally interested in changing the broken, fragmented, fee-for-service system that is terminal to what we call health care in the USA. I would be happy to support the change. A time of chaos is the best time for change.

Dennis Cotter| 12.29.08 @ 10:27AM

The creation of a Federal Health Board sounds somewhat reminiscent of DHHS' National Center for Health Care Technology (1979-82) whose charge was to assess the value of established and new technologies. Although its tenure was short, one should learn from the reasons for its demise.

pigment Red| 4.4.10 @ 5:59AM

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