Summary

In chapter 16 Obama recounts his steps in beginning work on healthcare legislation. He provides the reader a short history of healthcare costs and how they have been met historically. Due to a number of factors including the increasing cost and sophistication of healthcare services and the introduction of employee-sponsored health plans during the New Deal years. Obama cites 43 million uninsured Americans and a 97 percent increase in premiums for family coverage since 2000 (377) in order to express an obvious need for healthcare reform. Despite these figures, Rahm and Axelrod advise Obama to proceed cautiously as many Americans are nevertheless still strongly opposed to healthcare reform. The ability of drug and insurance companies to advertise and stop legislation is also a major obstacle for Obama. As Obama assembles his team of experts to draft healthcare legislation, he cites as a model Romney’s healthcare reforms in...