Putting Obamacare Out of Its Misery

Trump's health care opportunity

Discontent with Obamacare—and with the delivery of health care more broadly—unites most Americans across our other divisions. That discontent creates enormous opportunities and risks for our president-elect.

The new administration would be misguided to start a typical Washington process that brings the usual suspects to town for dull sessions that grind out pablum that no one will digest. On the other hand, they will not inherit a detailed roadmap from congressional Republicans and should not expect that any Health and Human Services (HHS) transition team, no matter how talented and focused, can quickly create a workable plan in isolation.

History provides useful lessons in how to proceed. Donald Trump's opponent in this election created a dreadful first impression with the American people in 1993 by overseeing a justly derided process for reforming health care—a Byzantine cabal, working in secret, that contributed to the collapse of her initiative. Almost two decades later, President Barack Obama repeated Hillary Clinton's mistake, jamming a flawed bill through Congress in the least transparent and most partisan way. It was without parallel in any major domestic reform in American history. Resentment over having to pass the bill [to] find out what's in it ignited seven years of partisan bitterness in Congress and, more broadly, increased the contempt for Congress that helped to fuel Trump's historic upset.