U.S. Health Care Reform—One More European Viewpoint

A couple of days ago, I posted a European reaction to the passage of Health Care Reform legislation.

It was an article in the German Spiegel, commenting on the good and the bad consequences and implications of such legislation for America, Europe and Obama.

Of course there have been numerous other reactions worldwide, and of course some may not be interested in or particularly care for what the rest of the world thinks or says about us.

But for those who do, here is another interesting reaction: this one from the Netherlands.

In an Editorial, the Dutch NRC Handelsblad optimistically says that “The US House of Representatives passing the health care bill could be a first step towards closing the rift that runs through American society and politics.”

The rationale for such a claim, according to the Handelsblad, is that Republicans may have been somewhat chastened by their defeat. That, while the “American political schism is still there…it has taken a serious blow from Obama. And that is a positive change.”

But, not so fast:

The Republicans have lost this time. But it is unlikely to lead them to hedge their bets and seek compromise in other policy areas. The coming seven months before November’s midterm Congressional elections could see a lot of fuel added to the fire.

Some other interesting takes:

Obama has regained some political breathing space as well. Until Sunday, his presidency was buckling under the strain of many promises he had yet to deliver on. He said the affront to the rule of law that is Guantánamo Bay was to be expunged, and the pacification of Afghanistan was to be prioritised and tackled swiftly. But his most important campaign issue was health care. If Obama had lost Sunday night’s vote, his presidency would have been all but broken after only one year. This danger was averted at the last possible moment.

And,

His reform plans were resisted with a vengeance. This is hard to understand from a European perspective. Solidarity and collectivism have been commonplace in European healthcare since the rule of the first German chancellor Otto Bismarck (1871-1890). In the US however, the individual freedom to forgo healthcare insurance is clung to dogmatically. It doesn’t seem to matter that this has left the country with the most expensive health care system in the world. Not only Republicans, but Democrats too, adhere to the idea that the state should not interfere in health care as an article of faith.

Just another point of view—for those receptive to them