There are some encouraging signs that Obama might be considering a more ambitious health care plan than he campaigned on. A combination of heavy congressional wins and a worsening economy might give Obama the room he needs to do something no one thought possible in America. Could we see something along the lines of single-payer? Could we be talking about the end of employer-based health care?

It’s too early to say for sure.

Daschle, who was developing a passion for health care, did not want to be HHS secretary – or at least was lukewarm on it – unless he was given a health-czar role. HHS is a monstrous bureaucracy (NIH, FDA, etc.) and is not a place to effect health-care reform. Although you won’t hear them making the analogy, Obama aides want to use the Cheney-energy-task-force model of using the White House as a place to hash out issues before they got to the Hill and Cabinet. So the Office of Health Reform will be like a special-projects arm of the White House. By adding that role to his spot in the Cabinet, HE’S ALIGNING THE PLANETS TO ALLOW HIM TO PUSH FOR SIGNIFICANT CHANGES – TO TRY FOR HEALTH REFORM MORE AMBITIOUS THAN PEOPLE ARE THINKING.

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