The Los Angeles Times has an article suggesting that support for health care reform is gaining momentum and we may see sweeping changes next year. The article points out that reform has broad, bipartisan support and has the support of President-elect Obama.
The cost and availability of health care is a major concern for small businesses. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the Business Roundtable and other business groups are pushing for reform. Key quote from the article:
""It's the single biggest cost pressure our members face," said John Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable. "This is coming to a tipping point." Castellani warned that failure to resolve the healthcare crisis would increasingly threaten major employers."
Despite the need and broad based support, healthcare reform will not be easy to achieve. Powerful interest groups oppose reform and most proposals require substantial increases in federal healthcare spending.
But the biggest obstacle may be higher priorities. The new administration's highest priorities are going to be the economy, jobs, Iraq and Afghanistan. Given the state of the US economy and our involvement in two wars, healthcare reform may have to wait.
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