Rope-a-dope on Health Care?

According to this article posted on Yahoo! News today, it seems the White House is willing to consider the following four Republican ideas on health care reform:

1. Sending investigators disguised as patients to uncover fraud and waste
2. Expanding medical malpractice reform pilot programs
3. Increasing payments to Medicaid providers
4. Expanding the use of health savings accounts

When added to the bills already passed by the two houses of Congress, these ideas make sense. However, it is important to note that these ideas are in addition to the reforms already passed, not in place of them. You still have to address coverage of the uninsured, ensure continued & complete coverage for the underinsured, prevent insurance companies from dropping coverage due to pre-existing conditions, and modernize health IT.

What these four ideas would help accomplish is to rein in the massive costs of health care currently in the United States, as best described by the personal experience of Newsweek's Howard Fineman in his latest column. (A more personal note about Howard Fineman's column later.)

On the surface these ideas make sense. Politically, Congressional Democrats need to go along with these ideas because they need to highlight all instances where Republicans vote against their own ideas and show the country that it is the Republicans preventing change in Washington by voting against their own ideas just because they have the endorsement of President Obama. Racist folks in the Tea Parties might like what Republicans are doing but the rest of the center-right part of the country will see it for what it really is, just another political stunt.