The SEIU on health reform

Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern published a letter to members in which he recounts the great effort expended by organized labor in electing President Obama and lamenting the fact that it appears the health care reform won't take the shape that SEIU prefers.

At the end of the letter he exhorts the President, the Senate, and the House to "fight like hell" to deliver on health reform, but from my perspective Stern is confused on what is the fundamental obstacle to the expansion of health insurance coverage.

Stern claims:

the result of this Senator saying "we can't?" The public option is declared impossible. Americans cannot purchase Medicare at an earlier age. The health insurance reform effort we have needed for a century is at risk.

The real obstacle is, of course, cost.

Stern quoted some SEIU members in his letter, and if he had only paid a little more attention to what they were saying, he might have come to this realization himself:

We talked to more than 200,000 of our sisters and brothers all around the country as part of a Town Hall-style telephone call last week to talk about your questions, your concerns and your frustrations about what is happening in Washington with health insurance reform.

Cynthia from Maryland was worried about her health benefits being taxed.

Maria in California didn't understand why the public option might be off the table

Maria wants a public option, but Cynthia doesn't want higher taxes. I'd bet Maria doesn't want to pay higher taxes either. And that, in essence, is why the public option is off the table. Everybody wants free health care (including me). Nobody wants to pay the bill (definitely including me).

Stern is either oblivious to this fact or is willfully ignoring it while continuing to stir hopes of a full coverage no cost health system in the hearts and minds of his members.

Either way, he has a lot of company. It's just too bad that so much of it staffs our current governments.