Ted. vs. Ted on HMO's

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Senator Ted Kennedy is in a lather. He is in high dudgeon. He is outraged. He is really, really mad at those terrible, no good, very bad HMOs who deny patients payment for medical care. So he has drafted a bill that will put it to the insurance companies, but good.

Now, a quiz:

In 1978, who said: "As the author of the first HMO bill ever to pass the Senate, I find this spreading support for HMOs truly gratifying . . . . HMOs have proven themselves again and again to be effective and efficient mechanisms for delivering health care of the highest quality"?

Not a very tough quiz, is it? Of course, the answer is: Ted Kennedy.

There is a lesson here. The lesson is that tinkering begets tinkering, and meddling begets meddling. Kennedy is chiefly responsible for the woeful conditions he now attempts to ameliorate. It's a good deal for him - he took the credit for introducing HMOs, and he will take credit for taking the wind out of their sails. He'll run again on the great job he's doing looking out for the little guy. And win.

But voters should keep the HMO debacle in mind the next time some blowhard gets up in front of a crowd and promises to pass a swell new program that will resolve a perceived problem. Because a few years down the line, some other blowhard - or even the original one - will be standing in front of a crowd promising to pass a program to fix a worse problem the first program created.

© 2001, Richmond Newspapers Inc.