KeithHennessey.com

This is part two of a crash course on the reconciliation process and how it might be used this fall for health care reform.

Yesterday President Obama sent an email on health care reform to the White House mailing list. Respectfully, here is my counterpoint.

The President once again correctly identified the core problem, and I compliment him for his emphasis on the need to reduce, or at least slow the growth of, private health insurance premiums. Unfortunately the House and Senate bills move in the opposite direction. They contain insurance mandates that would make private health insurance more expensive for most Americans, and would thus exacerbate the problems described by the President.

While I appreciate the legislative creativity that appears to be behind Senator Kerry’s attempt to broker a legislative compromise, I would oppose this policy change. I’m just not a tax-and-spend guy.

I will be on CNBC’s Street Signs this afternoon at 2 PM EDT. Governor Howard Dean and I will be discussing health care reform with host Erin Burnett. This should be a debate among alternatives, not “Are you for health care reform or the status quo?” I propose Congress adopt the following plan instead of the legislation they are now considering.