No Revolution for the Health Czar

As Tom Daschle was explaining his goals as the new “health czar” at a Senate confirmation hearing, one metaphor for the failed system was looking down at him from the dais.

If Ted Kennedy had been an average citizen with a brain tumor last July, he would most likely not be alive now to take part in what seems a serious attempt to confront the health-care mess that has been decades in the making.

Last summer, some medical ethicists were suggesting that Kennedy decline expensive end-of-life treatment in a system where health insurers consume one out of every three dollars for their overhead and profit. But Kennedy had the personal wealth and motivation to fight for his life, and in the coming months, will be a strong ally for the Obama Administration with Daschle leading its efforts to overhaul American health care.

In the Obama bipartisan mode, Daschle had Bob Dole at his side for the confirmation hearing and, despite his sound analysis of what’s wrong, will be trying to patch up the current system rather than scrap it and start fresh.

Unlike banks and auto makers, health insurers have not been not asking for taxpayer bailouts because they already have them.

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