Don't you just hate it when some pompous TV attorney asks a witness a question, then cuts him off by saying, "That'll be all," or, "A simple yes or no will do?" It's the same thing a lot of talk radio hosts do -- they give the caller 30 seconds to make her point, cut her off, then spend the next five minutes explaining why they were wrong. It's not fair, but when you control the conversation, you can steer it any direction you want.
Of course, while it's important to control the dialog, it's equally important to make your point quickly or risk losing your audience. That's because we live in a sound-bite society where entire conversations last a couple minutes. Anyone who's ever watched an episode of "The Hills" knows what I'm talking about. Perhaps that explains the demise of the newspaper and the growing popularity of Twitter.
So what does this have to do with us? It's simple: these two concepts -- According to Wikipedia, a "bully pulpit" is a public office or other position of authority that provides the holder an opportunity to speak out and be listened to. The term was coined by Teddy Roosevelt, who recognized the White House is an excellent platform from which to advocate an agenda -- a fact that hasn't been lost on its current occupant.
President Obama certainly has an agenda -- comprehensive reform of the American health care delivery system -- and he realizes all eyes are on him. As he lobbies for reform, Obama is making his argument in one-line sound bites -- just the way we like it. A couple of my favorites:
- When it comes to health care, the status quo is unsustainable and unacceptable. So reform is not a luxury, it's a necessity.
- For those who simply criticize without offering new ideas of their own, I have to ask - what's your answer?
The President's best one-liner yet, though, came in his June 23 press conference. When asked whether a public plan option would drive private insurance companies out of business, Obama responded: "Why would it drive private insurance out of business? If...private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care, if they tell us that they're offering a good deal, then why is it that the government, which they say can't run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That's not logical."
What a great strategy. He used our own argument against us -- a classic Karl Rove technique. Instead of going after our weakness, he went after our strength.
I'm sure most of us have found ourselves screaming at the TV when we hear a politician over-simplify a complicated issue, and this is no different. We all know there are flaws in the President's argument. The reason, of course, that a public option threatens to drive private insurance companies out of business is because of the rule-making ability the feds have. As Aetna President Ron Williams pointed out during Obama's June 24 primetime special on ABC, "It is difficult to compete against a player who's also the person refereeing the game."
What the insurance industry is justifiably concerned about is that a public plan would not compete on a level playing field. In addition to claims costs, private insurance companies must pay all of their overhead out of the premiums they collect -- the government, however, can have taxpayers supplement these costs.
Additionally, private insurance companies negotiate the fees they pay for covered services with the providers. The government, on the other hand, would be able to dictate the fees providers must accept. Both of these facts would allow the government to charge a lower premium and create a competitive advantage over private insurance companies.
So why doesn't the insurance industry fight back? Because our argument doesn't fit into a convenient sound bite, and, as already noted, we don't have a bully pulpit. Let's not forget that President Obama is an attorney by trade, and he's the one who's controlling the conversation. No, it's not fair, but any real argument our industry might have had against a public plan option has been cut off with a "that'll be all, thank you." And the jury -- the American public -- doesn't even seem to care.
Eric Johnson can be reached at 817-366-7536 or eric.johnson@agentallies.com.
