President Barack Obama channeled Star Trek’s Mr. Spock during a wide-ranging June 23 press conference, calling claims by private insurers that a government-run health plan would drive them out of business “not logical:”
“Why would [a government-run plan] drive private insurance out of business? If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care; if they tell us that they’re offering a good deal, then why is it that the government, which they say can’t run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That’s not logical.”
Later, after a reporter re-assured the president that a reference to his “Spock-like logic” was not a crack aimed at his famously protuberant ears, Obama signaled a willingness to be flexible as his administration negotiates with members of Congress:
“We have not drawn lines in the sand, other than that reform has to control costs and that it has to provide relief to people who don’t have health insurance or are under-insured. … Right now, I will say that our position is that a public plan makes sense. …
“[But] I think that there is a legitimate concern, if the public plan was simply eating off the taxpayer trough, that it would be hard for private insurers to compete. … Now, if it turns out that the public plan, for example, is able to reduce administrative costs significantly, then you know what, I’d like the insurance companies to take note and say, ‘Hey, if the public plan can do that, why can’t we?’
“That’s good for everybody in the system. And I don’t think there should be any objection to that.”
On the over-riding question of how to pay for reforms, Obama said he won’t sign a bill that doesn’t pay for itself through savings generated by improving the healthcare system’s efficiency:
“And I’ve said very clearly, if any bill arrives from Congress that is not controlling costs, that’s not a bill I can support. It’s going to have to control costs. It’s going to have to be paid for. … There’s been a lot of talk about, well, a trillion-dollar price tag. What I’ve said is, if we’re going to spend that much money, then it’s going to be largely funded through reallocating dollars that are already in the health care system, but aren’t being spent well.
“If we’re spending $177 billion over 10 years to subsidize insurance companies under Medicare Advantage, when there’s no showing that people are healthier using that program than the regular Medicare program, well, that’s not a good deal for taxpayers.”