Sen. Snowe: Death panel talk was stunning, insurance company practices are egregious

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Ezra Klein - An Interview with Senator Olympia Snowe

When Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) became the first congressional Republican to cast a vote for health-care reform, she also became the most influential Republican on health-care reform. Keeping her vote is a priority for Senate majority leader Harry Reid. "He is prepared to do what he can to keep her on board,” said Reid spokesperson Jim Manley. I spoke with Snowe on Thursday about the death of bipartisanship, the argument for a trigger, and the need for health-care reform to deliver benefits before 2013. A lightly edited transcript of our conversation follows.

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Was it strange to turn on the TV in August and hear Glenn Beck going on about death panels?

I was stunned. And I still am stunned. It’s reflective of the discourse.

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But Medicare and Social Security were much more radical than anything we’re discussing now, much more liberal, and they still had much more bipartisan support. That suggests to me we’re dealing with a different political system, or a different moment in the country.

Unfortunately, the political system today preys more on people’s fears than their hopes. It’s all about winning or losing rather than fashioning the right type of approach to a serious problem that cannot be deferred into the future. We have an impending crisis and we can’t seem to muster the political capacity or will to forge political consensus.

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You’ve been supporting a trigger proposal that would bring a public option into being if insurance didn’t prove affordable over the next few years. Why wait?

We need a lever to force industry to drive down prices. If the goal of the public option is to ensure the industry performs, then the same could be true of a trigger mechanism. That lever could be equally potent in providing the maximum incentive to the industry to perform. The CBO has said we’d realize $15 billion in savings. I think that would be preferable to giving a disproportionate advantage to government.

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What’s the single idea you’d most like to see in the bill but that you don’t think is politically feasible?

That’s a good question. You mean politically feasible?

Yeah. Like single-payer, for some people, or Wyden-Bennett for others. A big idea you’d like to see included but is currently outside the range of discussion.

I don’t know that I have anything in that category. I believe we should build upon the current system. We don’t want to disrupt that. I’m traditional in my approach towards reforming health care. Given the size and the amount of money we spend on it, I think it would be far too disruptive to upend the system. I think it’s preferable to build on what has worked well in our system and change the egregious practices in the insurance industry. I think the skepticism of that industry has been understandable and I share it, that’s why we really need to look at all facets to ensure they live up to certain standards and perform. But if they don’t, I think a trigger could be a powerful lever in that regard without having the government involved at the outset.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klei...en_olympia.html

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I believe we should build upon the current system. We don't want to disrupt that. I'm traditional in my approach towards reforming health care. Given the size and the amount of money we spend on it, I think it would be far too disruptive to upend the system. I think it's preferable to build on what has worked well in our system and change the egregious practices in the insurance industry. I think the skepticism of that industry has been understandable and I share it, that's why we really need to look at all facets to ensure they live up to certain standards and perform. But if they don't, I think a trigger could be a powerful lever in that regard without having the government involved at the outset.

Those sentiments are the traditional Conservative approaches toward policy. The Radical Right have tried to redefine what Conservative has meant.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Was it strange to turn on the TV in August and hear Glenn Beck going on about death panels?

I was stunned. And I still am stunned. It’s reflective of the discourse.

She needs to produce her long form birth certificate. Sounds like she's part of Obama's tribe.