On the last day of HIMSS12, Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile and Republican commentator Dana Perino sat down to discuss a range of topics. Covering everything from the 2012 election to EHRs to healthcare reform, the two presented a lively and entertaining discussion about government and healthcare.
Here are six highlights from Brazile’s and Perino’s debate at HIMSS12.
On the last day of HIMSS12, Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile and Republican commentator Dana Perino sat down to discuss a range of topics. Covering everything from the 2012 election to EHRs to healthcare reform, the two presented a lively and entertaining discussion about government and healthcare.
Here are six highlights from Brazile’s and Perino’s debate at HIMSS12.
1. On leadership: Although primarily focused on government, Perino’s comments on leadership could easily be applied to a myriad of industries, including healthcare. “There are a lot of times in leadership when you can be a jerk, or you can learn to forgive,” she said. Perino continued by describing various natural disasters, and how the best work was done when leaders came together and worked collaboratively. She spoke of a time when President George W. Bush invited President-elect Barack Obama, along with former Presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush, to help after Hurricane Katrina. “If you think of all the things Clinton said about Bush 41, and what Carter said about all of them, yet there they were, showing the world we can have our differences, but at our core, we believe in the system – the question is, the system we have: Does it not work, or did it work and we got off track?”
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2. On political compromise, or lack thereof: “I have a theory, that many of us in the political world, we don’t come into it with clean hands,” said Brazile. “We stir the pot, and I’ve made my share of gumbos. But one of the biggest problems is how we elect people in this country.” Often, continued Brazile, citizens elect the loudest and most organized candidate, and time ends up telling of their inability to compromise. “There [used] to be a trust and a fellowship,” she said. “But I saw it dissipate in the ‘90s ... we started seeing it unravel with the cultural war.” Now, she noted, only 60 percent of Americans will identify with one political party, while 40 percent are stuck in a "tug of war.”
"You’re not engaged in this tug of war, but you have to wrestle control, and this is where you come in, as independents, to vote. But, you’re so sick of the left and the right that you don’t vote, and we elect liberals and conservatives, and there’s no middle," she said. "We’ve taken the middle out, and we’re left with the loudest voices on both sides.”
3. On being for 'ObamaCare': Brazile made clear that she is a supporter of President Obama's healthcare reform, yet she recognized potential flaws associated with it. “One of the problems with ObamaCare, or RomneyCare 2.0, as some call it, is people don’t like the process and people didn’t like the product,” she said. “When you can’t defend the process, and you can’t sell the product as a win-win for the uninsured and for those trying to maintain their insurance … it’s picked apart.” We aren’t going to reach a political consensus any time soon, she added, since everyone is “still dousing gasoline on it and it’s burning out of control.” Another issue with the legislation, she continued, is Obama’s failure to sell it. “This is one thing where I wish the president used the power of pulpit to explain it,” she said. “The president has to use the power of pulpit strategically, and often, they use it for tactical operations ... I cringe and say, ‘You don’t use it that way.’”
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4. On being against 'ObamaCare': Although Brazile could admit she was a supporter of ObamaCare despite its flaws, Perino made no secret there is a lot she doesn’t like about the legislation. “And the process point is a big one,” she said. Like Brazile, Perino looked to the way Obama presented ObamaCare and compared it to a recent speech he gave on energy. “I knew he was giving a speech, but I was like, ‘What’s this speech about?’ There was a lot of cheering and yelling, and I thought it was a Democratic fundraiser, but no, it was an energy speech that didn’t bring the seriousness of the moment to the issue; you don’t get too many bites at that apple.” She added that, after good bipartisan work is done on legislation, it’s essential to protect it going forward.
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5. On EHRs: Brazile looked to the tornado that struck Joplin, Miss., to demonstrate the power and effectiveness of electronic medical records. “That tornado destroyed the community, killing people at hospitals … patients evacuated. But you know, what there is now, we have healthcare records – three weeks prior to that hospital being torn apart, they updated their records, and those patients had those.” Based on her own personal experience, added Brazile, electronic medical records have been made invaluable for those affected by the various natural disasters in the South, including Hurricane Katrina. With a hospital destroyed as a result of the storm, it took Brazile a year to determine what medication her sister was taking, which otherwise wouldn’t have been an issue if an EHR had been implemented. “As a result of the ACA, we have incentives for others to have medical records,” she said. “I went in to get an X-ray of my knee, and I asked to carry it, and they said, ‘Oh no, we’re going to transfer it,’ and I was like, ‘It’s sexy now to transfer things; we don’t have to carry paper any more.”
6. On the benefits of healthcare reform: “I’m from the school where if it’s good, then praise it,” said Brazile, when asked about healthcare reform. “We have one million more young adults who have insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act, and we should praise that … I don’t have preexisting conditions – other than the fact I’m a woman – and my premiums went down and covered me nicely. I had no idea when you’re self-insured how expensive insurance is, and when premiums go down, it makes a huge difference.” Brazile added she is a supporter of the bill and hopes more Americans will get to know it better. “With my dad being 80 years old, the copays and elimination of things for seniors … there’s a lot of good stuff,” she said. “But we need to tell this story and share this story but not be so down on what we’ve done to get healthcare costs under control in this country.”
Follow Michelle McNickle on Twitter, @Michelle_writes
