President Obama’s articulations do not leave much to the imagination. They do, however, make it a little more challenging to get at the subtleties hidden therein. Take today’s weekly radio address.

For the first time ever, all five committees in Congress responsible for health reform have passed a version of legislation. As I speak to you today, we are closer to reforming the health care system than we have ever been in history.

Both sentences are essentially accurate. Not since the 1930s in this country — when the initial rumblings of healthcare reform raised eyebrows but were ultimately left out of Social Security legislation during the FDR era — has any significant action on the way healthcare is delivered had some degree of support from both Democrats and Republicans^[1], not to mention the American public. And, its true that the ultimate health reform bill has had its individual versions make it out of various congressional committees. Buried within Obama’s excitement over what the immediate future holds for health reform, however, is a measured trepidation on how he views the role of the insurance companies and their influence as a vote comes on reform.

Today, Obama finally acknowledged Insurance’s ability to stonewall meaningful reform.

… the insurance companies are rolling out the big guns and breaking open their massive war chest — to marshal their forces for one last fight to save the status quo. They’re filling the airwaves with deceptive and dishonest ads. They’re flooding Capitol Hill with lobbyists and campaign contributions. And they’re funding studies designed to mislead the American people…

Obama has heard from his Democratic constituency and now has made the decision to (finally) express fightin’ words. If he expects to enact reform that will regulate the insurance market and expand health coverage without increasing the federal budget deficit, he needs to follow up his articulations with actions. It remains to be seen if the Democratic leadership will carry this fervor to include as much of a public option in the final reform bill as possible. | LINK

1. Obama and the Democrats were relieved this week when the Senate Finance Committee approved its version of a reform measure with the support of Republican Senator Olympia Snowe. [↩]

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