Research Briefing

A Viewer’s Guide To The ‘Sure Things’ At Today’s Health Care Summit

BET ON IT:

OBAMA WILL KEEP ON PUSHING A GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF HEALTH CARE

Chicago Tribune Editorial Board: “Faced With Critics Opposed To A Great Expansion Of Federal Spending On, And Control Of, Health Care And Health Insurance, Obama Decided To Demand An Even Bigger Role For Washington.”  (Editorial, “Price Controls?” The Chicago Tribune, 2/22/10)

Obama Said He Supports Single-Payer System And Wants To See One In The U.S., But Knows We “May Not Get There Immediately.”  ”I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its gross national product on health care, cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. … A single-payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. That’s what I’d like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we’ve got to take back the White House, we’ve got to take back the Senate, and we’ve got to take back the House.” (Barack Obama, Remarks At AFL-CIO Civil, Women’s, And Human Rights Conference, 6/30/03)

• Obama Said A Single-Payer System Would Be Best If We Were Starting From Scratch. “If I were starting a system from scratch, then I think that the idea of moving towards a single-payer system could very well make sense. That’s the kind of system that you have in most industrialized countries around the world. The only problem is that we’re not starting from scratch.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At Town Hall Meeting On Credit Card Reform, Rio Rancho, NM, 5/14/09)

HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius: “I’m All For A Single Payer System Eventually.” (Kathleen Sebelius, Remarks At The John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, Harvard University, 2007)

BET ON IT:

OBAMA WILL REFUSE TO TAKE PARTISAN TRICK OF RECONCILIATION OFF THE TABLE

“RECONCILIATION IS BACK: Why Bother With The Health Care Summit If Democrats Are Going To Use Reconciliation - A Filibuster Busting Simple Majority - In The Senate?” (Martin Kady II, “Republican Surge,” Politico’s “The Huddle,” 2/19/10)

• Senate Filibusters Are Not Permitted Under Reconciliation, So Reid Would Only Need 51 Votes To Ram Through The Latest Version Of A Government-Run Health Care Bill. “Under the procedures for reconciliation bills, debate in both houses is limited to 20 hours, and no Senate filibusters are allowed. ... Since filibusters, which take 60 votes to stop, are banned under the reconciliation procedures, Democrats could pass health reform legislation with a simple 51-vote majority. That would allow the Democrats to pass a bill without Republican support and even with a few Democratic defections.” (Eric Pianin, “How The Budget Reconciliation Process Works,” Kaiser Health News, 1/21/10)

Obama, Pelosi, And Reid Are “Committed To Reconciliation.” “‘They are coming out of the summit guns-a-blazing and they’re committed to reconciliation,’ said one Democratic insider. All three are dedicated to comprehensive reform, but Reid and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel are cautioning that ‘it’s going to be a heavier lift than a lot of people expect it to be,’ said a senior Democratic official. ‘It’s going to cause political problems.’” (Chris Frates, “Obama, Reid, Pelosi ‘Committed To Reconciliation’ -- Tanden Leaving Administration -- Medicaid Enrollment Hits Record 46.8M -- W.H. Could Push For Public Option,” Politico’s “Live Pulse” Blog , 2/19/10)

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) Praises Obama’s Proposal As Evidence Of A Partisan Way Forward In Reconciliation. “But to be clear, this bill is a 51 vote plan and not a 60 vote plan - that is great news. Democrats wasted a year bowing to the altar of Olympia Snowe, Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson and it got us nowhere.” (Rep. Anthony Weiner, “Weiner On White House Health Care Plan,” Press Release, 2/22/10)

BET ON IT:

AFTER TODAY, OBAMA WILL USE SUMMIT TO GIVE HIMSELF, FELLOW DEMS “POLITICAL COVER”

“[D]emocrats Hope The Summit Could Provide Them Political Cover To Go It Alone On A Party-Line Vote If Republicans Say They Won’t Provide Any Votes For An Obama-Style Health Fix.” (Carrie Budoff Brown & Patrick O’Connor, “No High Hopes For Health Care Summit,” Politico, 2/9/10)

AP: Obama’s New Plan Isn’t “Looking Much More Promising” And The Real Goal Is “To Silence The Talk Of A Failing Presidency.” “Starting over on health care, President Barack Obama knows his chances aren’t looking much more promising. A year after he called for a far-reaching overhaul, Obama unveiled his most detailed plan yet on Monday. Realistically, he’s just hoping to win a big enough slice to silence the talk of a failing presidency.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar & Erica Werner, “Outlook No Brighter For Obama Health Plan,” The Associated Press, 2/22/10)

Goal For White House: Use Summit To Give Obama, Congressional Dems Boost In Polls. “It’s also an opportunity for Mr. Obama to reclaim his image as someone out to change how Washington works, to engage his critics and to answer those who say he has broken his pledge to hold negotiations over a health-care bill in public. ... The White House now hopes that a better, more public process will boost public support and give congressional Democrats enough confidence to pass the bill, using a parliamentary procedure that requires just 51 Senate votes.” (Laura Meckler, “Leverage Sought In Health Summit,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/8/10)

BET ON IT:

OBAMA WILL CONTINUE TO REJECT AND IGNORE COMMON SENSE REPUBLICAN IDEAS

Democrats Rejected A GOP Plan To Expand State High-Risk Pools, Which Would Guarantee Access And Affordable Care For People With Pre-Existing Conditions. “The House Republican bill would offer $15 billion to states to establish high-risk pools, for people who could not otherwise obtain coverage, and reinsurance programs, under which states act as a backstop to private insurers. Under a reinsurance program, a state pays a large share of the cost if claims -- for an individual or a group -- exceed some threshold. ... Health policy experts say insurers can lower premiums if state reinsurance programs protect them against the risk of catastrophic costs.” (Robert Pear & David Herszenhorn, “G.O.P. Counters With A Health Plan Of Its Own,” The New York Times, 11/4/09)

Detroit News Editorial Board: Obama’s Partisan “Recasting Of The Existing Democratic Health Care Plan” Is “Betraying The Spirit Of The Summit.” “But in reality, it’s a recasting of the existing Democratic health care plan at an even higher cost. If the president’s intent is to staple onto it a couple of Republican ideas and call it a bipartisan bill, then he is betraying the spirit of the summit and, in all likelihood, will end up with a package that can’t pass Congress.” (Editorial, “Obama’s Compromise Health Care Proposal Looks Too Much Like The Old Plan,” The Detroit News, 2/23/10)

BET ON IT:

OBAMA WILL CONTINUE TO IGNORE THE PLEAS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO START OVER

Three Out Of  Four Americans Against Congress Passing “Legislation Similar To The Bills Passed By Both Chambers.” “Twenty-five percent of people questioned in the poll say Congress should pass legislation similar to the bills passed by both chambers, with 48 percent saying lawmakers should work on an entirely new bill and a quarter saying Congress should stop all work on health care reform.” (Paul Steinhauser, “CNN Poll: Health Care Provisions Popular But Overall Bills Unpopular,” CNN.com’s “Political Ticker” Blog, 2/24/10)

• And 57 Percent Of Americans Want Obama, Dems To Start Over On Health Care. “In a brutal assessment of the Democratically authored healthcare reform bills pending in Congress and the party’s approach to healthcare, more than half of the respondents to a new Zogby International-University of Texas Health Science Center poll said that lawmakers should start from scratch. Of the more than 2,500 people surveyed from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, 57 percent agreed with a statement that Congress should start over -- which is exactly what Republicans are demanding and what President Barack Obama insists he will not do.” (Jeffrey Young, “Poll: Most Americans Think Congress Should Start Over On Healthcare,” The Hill’s “Briefing Room” Blog, 2/16/10)

But Obama’s Communications Director, Dan Pfeffier Says “Starting From Scratch” On Health Care “Doesn’t Make Sense.” “White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said the House and Senate did too much good work last year for it to be simply be discarded. ‘Starting from scratch doesn’t make sense,’ Pfeiffer said.” (David Jackson, “Obama Unveils Health Care Plan; Combines Senate And House Bills,” USA Today’s “The Oval“ Blog, 2/22/10)

• Obama’s Press Secretary Robert Gibbs: “The Notion Of Starting Over ... Is Not What The American People Want.” (Robert Gibbs, White House Press Briefing, Washington, DC, 2/22/10)

• Obama’s DNC Chairman Tim Kaine: “When I Hear The ‘Start From Scratch,’ It Doesn’t Strike Me As Earnest Advice ... ‘Start From Scratch’ Isn’t An Idea. ‘Start From Scratch’ Isn’t A Solution.” (Tim Kaine, MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” 2/23/10)