By Heidi Przybyla
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Darryl and Shelly Syverson may be the real-life incarnation of “Harry and Louise.” And that could pose a danger for President Barack Obama’s plans to overhaul the U.S. health-care system.
The Syversons of Strawberry Point, Iowa, and their neighbors are voicing many of the concerns stoked by Harry and Louise, a fictional middle-class couple whose appearance in television advertisements attacking President Bill Clinton’s health-care program in 1994 helped sink the plan.
“The middle class always get stuck paying for everything,” Shelly, 59, said after a town-hall meeting last week in Elkader, Iowa, a mostly rural town of 1,465 residents about 60 miles northwest of Dubuque that houses a Caterpillar Inc. plant.
As Congress returns this week to craft the legislation, Obama’s push to revamp an industry that makes up 17 percent of the nation’s economy will need support from American families earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year, a group that pollsters define as middle class and which makes up about a quarter of the electorate. That backing is shaky, polls show.
“Everybody’s worried because they don’t trust Congress, they think they’ll screw it up,” said Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, in an interview after the town-hall meeting. Grassley’s panel is taking the lead on the legislation, which is likely to cost $1 trillion over 10 years.
Obama’s problem is that if middle-class voters are concerned that his plan focuses more on the estimated 46 million uninsured than on reducing their own costs, they may oppose significant changes in health care, analysts say.
Grievance Session
The Syversons, both Democrats, were among 80 Iowans packed into the basement of Elkader city hall for Grassley’s forum. The meeting quickly became a succession of grievances. There was the Vietnam veteran consumed by medical debt; a holistic health advocate who railed against drug companies; and a former postal service employee whose wife’s insurer won’t cover the surgery for her spinal problem that her doctor recommended.
While Shelly Syverson, a retired clerical worker from a local school, said she’s hopeful Obama’s plan may help lower her costs, she’s also skeptical. The Syversons pay $550 a month for insurance, or $50 less than Shelly’s monthly pension.
“The health-care burden on the middle-class is the biggest tax we have,” said Darryl, 62, who is semi-retired and coaches high school basketball.
Feeling the ‘Pinch’
Iowa has the second-lowest rate of uninsured in the U.S., said Ann Selzer, president of Selzer and Co., a Des Moines- based public opinion research company. “The crisis in Iowa is more about what’s happening with costs being shifted from employers to employees,” she said. “That’s the middle-class starting to feel this pinch and there are far more of them.”
A Quinnipiac Poll released July 1 highlighted the qualms of middle-class Americans. Sixty-three percent said the main goal should be to reduce costs. The poll, released July 1, was conducted from June 23 to 29 of 3,063 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points.
Democratic pollster Peter Hart conducted another poll for NBC that found most Americans think Obama’s aim is to cover the uninsured. “If that’s the perception, he’s going to have a very difficult time with public opinion,” said Hart.
If middle-class voters believe the plan primarily serves the interests of the poor, there could be a repeat of 1994, said Matt Bennett, who was a deputy assistant to Clinton.
“The middle class jumped off the bandwagon, and that’s why Clinton’s plan failed,” said Bennett, 44, a vice president at Third Way, a Washington research group that supports Obama’s plan. Obama “needs to ensure that the middle class remains convinced that they will be the beneficiaries of the reform.”
Obama’s Message
White House spokeswoman Linda Douglass said Obama’s “central message” is lowering costs for average Americans.
“He’s fully aware and knowledgeable about what happened in 1994,” she said.
Obama, who is pressing Congress to get a bill to his desk by October, emphasized at a July 1 town-hall meeting in Virginia how his plan will rein in costs. “If we want to control our deficits, the only way for us to do it is to control health-care costs,” he said.
The good news for Obama is that Americans, by a 20-point margin, trust him more than congressional Republicans on health care, the Quinnipiac poll found; 69 percent support his efforts to create a government-run option to compete with private insurers, a plan Republicans say will drive many of the companies out of business.
Middle-Class Targets
Republicans are pouncing on the cost issue.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, 59, said the middle class “will take it on the chin” under Obama’s public option, saying it would result in rationing of care and higher taxes.
“The wealthy will always be able to get the care they need, and most low-income Americans already get government assistance, so Democrats are putting a bulls-eye on the backs of the middle class,” said Boehner.
The president is also under pressure to fund his plan by taxing health-care benefits, an idea that 73 percent of middle- class voters reject, the Quinnipiac survey found.
In Elkader, Ted Fleener, a 60-year-old school counselor, urged Grassley to oppose taxing benefits. “At least keep that one break for those of us in the middle class,” Fleener said.
“It is difficult politically, because the benefits of this health-care reform won’t be felt for a while,” said Senator Dick Durbin, 64, of Illinois, the Senate’s No. 2- ranking Democrat. “The expense may be felt from the beginning. People don’t like taxes.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Heidi Przybyla at hprzybyla@bloomberg.net
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a8_uOr5TSd.I
Friday, July 17, 2009
Joe Biden: ‘We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt’
Thursday, July 16, 2009By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer
Vice President Joe Biden told people attending an AARP town hall meeting that unless the Democrat-supported health care plan becomes law the nation will go bankrupt and that the only way to avoid that fate is for the government to spend more money. “And folks look, AARP knows and the people with me here today know, the president knows, and I know, that the status quo is simply not acceptable,” Biden said at the event on Thursday in Alexandria, Va. “It’s totally unacceptable. And it’s completely unsustainable. Even if we wanted to keep it the way we have it now. It can’t do it financially.” “We’re going to go bankrupt as a nation,” Biden said. “Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’” Biden said. “The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you.” (Listen to Audio) The event, sponsored by the AARP – which supports the Obama administration’s plan – was attended by mostly AARP members who were bussed in for the meeting.
Biden told the group that the Obama health plan will not eliminate people’s ability to choose their health care insurance and that people who cannot afford insurance will be covered by the plan. “They’ll be a deal in there so there’s competition, so what you’ll have in there is you’ll have the ability to go in there and say, ‘Now look, this is the policy I want. This is the one,” Biden said. “And those people who can’t afford to get in there, up to a certain income, we’re going to subsidize them, you get in there and we’ll help you pay for it,” Biden said. After opening remarks by Biden and AARP CEO A. Barry Rand, the audience asked questions, which were fielded by Biden, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform.
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=51162
Vice President Joe Biden told people attending an AARP town hall meeting that unless the Democrat-supported health care plan becomes law the nation will go bankrupt and that the only way to avoid that fate is for the government to spend more money. “And folks look, AARP knows and the people with me here today know, the president knows, and I know, that the status quo is simply not acceptable,” Biden said at the event on Thursday in Alexandria, Va. “It’s totally unacceptable. And it’s completely unsustainable. Even if we wanted to keep it the way we have it now. It can’t do it financially.” “We’re going to go bankrupt as a nation,” Biden said. “Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’” Biden said. “The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you.” (Listen to Audio) The event, sponsored by the AARP – which supports the Obama administration’s plan – was attended by mostly AARP members who were bussed in for the meeting.
Biden told the group that the Obama health plan will not eliminate people’s ability to choose their health care insurance and that people who cannot afford insurance will be covered by the plan. “They’ll be a deal in there so there’s competition, so what you’ll have in there is you’ll have the ability to go in there and say, ‘Now look, this is the policy I want. This is the one,” Biden said. “And those people who can’t afford to get in there, up to a certain income, we’re going to subsidize them, you get in there and we’ll help you pay for it,” Biden said. After opening remarks by Biden and AARP CEO A. Barry Rand, the audience asked questions, which were fielded by Biden, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform.
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=51162
Lawmakers Warned About Health Costs
CBO Chief Says Democrats' Proposals Lack Necessary Controls on Spending
By Lori Montgomery and Shailagh MurrayWashington Post Staff Writers Friday, July 17, 2009
Congress's chief budget analyst delivered a devastating assessment yesterday of the health-care proposals drafted by congressional Democrats, fueling an insurrection among fiscal conservatives in the House and pushing negotiators in the Senate to redouble efforts to draw up a new plan that more effectively restrains federal spending.
Under questioning by members of the Senate Budget Committee, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, said bills crafted by House leaders and the Senate health committee do not propose "the sort of fundamental changes" necessary to rein in the skyrocketing cost of government health programs, particularly Medicare. On the contrary, Elmendorf said, the measures would pile on an expensive new program to cover the uninsured.
Though President Obama and Democratic leaders have repeatedly pledged to alter the soaring trajectory -- or cost curve -- of federal health spending, the proposals so far would not meet that goal, Elmendorf said, noting, "The curve is being raised." His remarks suggested that rather than averting a looming fiscal crisis, the measures could make the nation's bleak budget outlook even worse.
Elmendorf's blunt language startled lawmakers racing to meet Obama's deadline for approving a bill by the August break. The CBO is the official arbiter of the cost of legislation. Fiscal conservatives in the House said Elmendorf's testimony would galvanize the growing number of Democrats agitating for changes in the more than $1.2 trillion House bill, which aims to cover 97 percent of Americans by 2015.
A lot of Democrats want to see more savings, said Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), who is leading an effort to amend the bill before next week's vote in the Energy and Commerce Committee. "There's no way they can pass this bill on the House floor. Not even close."
if Republicans also seized on Elmendorf's remarks, with House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) saying they prove "that one of the Democrats' chief talking points is pure fiction." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Elmendorf's testimony should serve as a "wake-up call" to Obama and Democratic leaders to heed requests from lawmakers in both parties to slow down the process.
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said she delivered that message directly to Obama at the White House yesterday, and strongly urged him to give up his August deadline so bipartisan negotiators in the Senate Finance Committee can craft a new reform plan that does more to control costs.
"I think it would be prudent for the president to be patient," said Snowe, whom Obama is courting aggressively. Bipartisan approval of a finance bill "can provide huge impetus for the success of this legislation and achieving broader support as it goes through the legislative process."
Talks in the Senate broke late yesterday, with plans to resume next week. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said the group is considering about a dozen options to cover the estimated $1 trillion cost of its package, including reductions in Medicare spending and additional tax increases.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), whose support could compel numerous GOP senators to take a serious look at the package, said he is "hoping" to embrace the final product. Otherwise, he said, "I wouldn't be at the table." After Elmendorf's testimony, Grassley said Senate negotiators are determined to "overcome the shortcomings" of the House proposal.
The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), also has taken a leading role in the Finance Committee negotiations. Yesterday, when Elmendorf appeared before Conrad's committee to testify about the nation's long-term budget problems, Conrad focused his questions on the House and Senate committee measures, which were drafted without Republican input.
"I'm going to really put you on the spot," Conrad said. "From what you have seen from the products of the committees that have reported, do you see a successful effort being mounted to bend the long-term cost curve?"
Elmendorf responded: "No, Mr. Chairman." Although the House plan to cover the uninsured, for example, would add more than $1 trillion to federal health spending over the next decade, according to the CBO, it would trim about $500 billion from existing programs -- increasing federal health spending overall.
Some provisions of the bill have the potential to trim spending further, Elmendorf said, but "the changes that we have looked at so far do not represent the sort of fundamental change, the order of magnitude that would be necessary, to offset the direct increase in federal health costs that would result from the insurance coverage proposals."
Asked what provisions should be added, Elmendorf suggested changing the way Medicare reimburses providers to create incentives for reducing costs. He also suggested ending or limiting the tax-free treatment of employer-provided health benefits, calling it a federal "subsidy" that encourages spending on ever-more-expensive health packages.
Key senators, including Conrad, have been pressing to tax employer-provided benefits, but Senate leaders last week objected, saying that the idea, which Obama opposed on the campaign trail, does not have enough support to win passage. Yesterday, Baucus said White House opposition had hindered acceptance of the tax, which critics said would target police and firefighters who receive generous benefits packages.
Grassley said he urged Obama earlier this week to reconsider the tax, which the CBO has repeatedly identified as one of the best tools available for driving down long-term federal health spending. Obama said he could not do that, Grassley recalled. "Does he really want to bend the cost curve? He ought to be out in front on this issue and endorse it," he said.
The benefits tax is also hugely unpopular in the House, which has instead proposed a surtax of as much as 5.4 percent on income exceeding $350,000 a year to pay for health reform. "You're not going to get a tax on health benefits," said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor.
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she welcomes other efforts to improve the bill, including demands for additional savings.
"Can there be more? I think so," Pelosi said. "And that is what the legislative process is about. You don't write the whole bill, introduce it and then go to the floor. This is the time now for an open process of bipartisan review of the bill in the committees."
Meanwhile, a growing number of physician groups are also objecting to the House package. Although the chief executive of the American Medical Association pledged yesterday to "help build support" for the legislation, as many as 20 state medical societies have drafted a letter to congressional leaders vowing to fight creation of a government-sponsored health insurance program that could compete with private firms.
Staff writer Ceci Connolly contributed to this report.
By Lori Montgomery and Shailagh MurrayWashington Post Staff Writers Friday, July 17, 2009
Congress's chief budget analyst delivered a devastating assessment yesterday of the health-care proposals drafted by congressional Democrats, fueling an insurrection among fiscal conservatives in the House and pushing negotiators in the Senate to redouble efforts to draw up a new plan that more effectively restrains federal spending.
Under questioning by members of the Senate Budget Committee, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, said bills crafted by House leaders and the Senate health committee do not propose "the sort of fundamental changes" necessary to rein in the skyrocketing cost of government health programs, particularly Medicare. On the contrary, Elmendorf said, the measures would pile on an expensive new program to cover the uninsured.
Though President Obama and Democratic leaders have repeatedly pledged to alter the soaring trajectory -- or cost curve -- of federal health spending, the proposals so far would not meet that goal, Elmendorf said, noting, "The curve is being raised." His remarks suggested that rather than averting a looming fiscal crisis, the measures could make the nation's bleak budget outlook even worse.
Elmendorf's blunt language startled lawmakers racing to meet Obama's deadline for approving a bill by the August break. The CBO is the official arbiter of the cost of legislation. Fiscal conservatives in the House said Elmendorf's testimony would galvanize the growing number of Democrats agitating for changes in the more than $1.2 trillion House bill, which aims to cover 97 percent of Americans by 2015.
A lot of Democrats want to see more savings, said Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), who is leading an effort to amend the bill before next week's vote in the Energy and Commerce Committee. "There's no way they can pass this bill on the House floor. Not even close."
if Republicans also seized on Elmendorf's remarks, with House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) saying they prove "that one of the Democrats' chief talking points is pure fiction." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Elmendorf's testimony should serve as a "wake-up call" to Obama and Democratic leaders to heed requests from lawmakers in both parties to slow down the process.
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said she delivered that message directly to Obama at the White House yesterday, and strongly urged him to give up his August deadline so bipartisan negotiators in the Senate Finance Committee can craft a new reform plan that does more to control costs.
"I think it would be prudent for the president to be patient," said Snowe, whom Obama is courting aggressively. Bipartisan approval of a finance bill "can provide huge impetus for the success of this legislation and achieving broader support as it goes through the legislative process."
Talks in the Senate broke late yesterday, with plans to resume next week. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said the group is considering about a dozen options to cover the estimated $1 trillion cost of its package, including reductions in Medicare spending and additional tax increases.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), whose support could compel numerous GOP senators to take a serious look at the package, said he is "hoping" to embrace the final product. Otherwise, he said, "I wouldn't be at the table." After Elmendorf's testimony, Grassley said Senate negotiators are determined to "overcome the shortcomings" of the House proposal.
The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), also has taken a leading role in the Finance Committee negotiations. Yesterday, when Elmendorf appeared before Conrad's committee to testify about the nation's long-term budget problems, Conrad focused his questions on the House and Senate committee measures, which were drafted without Republican input.
"I'm going to really put you on the spot," Conrad said. "From what you have seen from the products of the committees that have reported, do you see a successful effort being mounted to bend the long-term cost curve?"
Elmendorf responded: "No, Mr. Chairman." Although the House plan to cover the uninsured, for example, would add more than $1 trillion to federal health spending over the next decade, according to the CBO, it would trim about $500 billion from existing programs -- increasing federal health spending overall.
Some provisions of the bill have the potential to trim spending further, Elmendorf said, but "the changes that we have looked at so far do not represent the sort of fundamental change, the order of magnitude that would be necessary, to offset the direct increase in federal health costs that would result from the insurance coverage proposals."
Asked what provisions should be added, Elmendorf suggested changing the way Medicare reimburses providers to create incentives for reducing costs. He also suggested ending or limiting the tax-free treatment of employer-provided health benefits, calling it a federal "subsidy" that encourages spending on ever-more-expensive health packages.
Key senators, including Conrad, have been pressing to tax employer-provided benefits, but Senate leaders last week objected, saying that the idea, which Obama opposed on the campaign trail, does not have enough support to win passage. Yesterday, Baucus said White House opposition had hindered acceptance of the tax, which critics said would target police and firefighters who receive generous benefits packages.
Grassley said he urged Obama earlier this week to reconsider the tax, which the CBO has repeatedly identified as one of the best tools available for driving down long-term federal health spending. Obama said he could not do that, Grassley recalled. "Does he really want to bend the cost curve? He ought to be out in front on this issue and endorse it," he said.
The benefits tax is also hugely unpopular in the House, which has instead proposed a surtax of as much as 5.4 percent on income exceeding $350,000 a year to pay for health reform. "You're not going to get a tax on health benefits," said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor.
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she welcomes other efforts to improve the bill, including demands for additional savings.
"Can there be more? I think so," Pelosi said. "And that is what the legislative process is about. You don't write the whole bill, introduce it and then go to the floor. This is the time now for an open process of bipartisan review of the bill in the committees."
Meanwhile, a growing number of physician groups are also objecting to the House package. Although the chief executive of the American Medical Association pledged yesterday to "help build support" for the legislation, as many as 20 state medical societies have drafted a letter to congressional leaders vowing to fight creation of a government-sponsored health insurance program that could compete with private firms.
Staff writer Ceci Connolly contributed to this report.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/16/AR2009071602242.html
Obama's health-care plan gathers steam in Congress
Bill passes another House committee even as budget warning issued
By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- A White House-backed plan to overhaul the U.S. health-care system passed another congressional milestone Friday morning, clearing a House committee even as some lawmakers continued to fret about the costs associated with the huge reform effort.
By a vote of 26-22, members of the House Education and Labor Committee approved a bill that aims to cover 97% of Americans and sets up a government-run health plan to compete with private insurers. The vote follows an early-morning vote by the House Ways and Means Committee on the same bill. It passed that committee 23-18 with no Republican support.
The committee moves come after a week of intense lobbying for the bill by Obama and spirited wrangling over its costs. The president is pressing Congress to approve legislation before its August break.
On Thursday, Republicans seized on a statement by the head of the Congressional Budget Office, who said the main health-care overhauls being considered wouldn't contain costs and could worsen already-escalating medical spending.
Earlier this week, Obama said that the U.S. is closer "than we have ever been" to an overhaul of health care. He spoke after the Senate Health Committee approved its version of legislation.
But Republicans have heaped criticism on both the House and Senate bills, and substantial work remains in the Senate on paying for Democrats' proposals.
In the House, meanwhile, the Energy and Commerce Committee is continuing to meet Friday on the bill. But the road in that panel is likely to be longer: it is home to seven members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog coalition of Democrats.
Robert Schroeder is a reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obamas-health-care-plan-gathers-steam-in-congress
By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- A White House-backed plan to overhaul the U.S. health-care system passed another congressional milestone Friday morning, clearing a House committee even as some lawmakers continued to fret about the costs associated with the huge reform effort.
By a vote of 26-22, members of the House Education and Labor Committee approved a bill that aims to cover 97% of Americans and sets up a government-run health plan to compete with private insurers. The vote follows an early-morning vote by the House Ways and Means Committee on the same bill. It passed that committee 23-18 with no Republican support.
The committee moves come after a week of intense lobbying for the bill by Obama and spirited wrangling over its costs. The president is pressing Congress to approve legislation before its August break.
On Thursday, Republicans seized on a statement by the head of the Congressional Budget Office, who said the main health-care overhauls being considered wouldn't contain costs and could worsen already-escalating medical spending.
Earlier this week, Obama said that the U.S. is closer "than we have ever been" to an overhaul of health care. He spoke after the Senate Health Committee approved its version of legislation.
But Republicans have heaped criticism on both the House and Senate bills, and substantial work remains in the Senate on paying for Democrats' proposals.
In the House, meanwhile, the Energy and Commerce Committee is continuing to meet Friday on the bill. But the road in that panel is likely to be longer: it is home to seven members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog coalition of Democrats.
Robert Schroeder is a reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obamas-health-care-plan-gathers-steam-in-congress
Monday, July 13, 2009
House Dems to tax rich to pay for health care
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer Erica Werner, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jul 10, 4:14 pm ET
WASHINGTON – House Democrats plan to pay for a sweeping health care overhaul by boosting taxes on the wealthy.
The taxes will hit households with incomes of $350,000 a year and above.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel of New York said the tax would raise $540 billion over 10 years.
In combination with cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that would pay for a comprehensive health bill in the range of $1 trillion.
Rangel told reporters of the decision after a day of meetings on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Friday acknowledged the tough going for health care overhaul as lawmakers struggled with fresh divisions over how to pay for comprehensive legislation.
"We're closer to that significant reform than at any time in recent history," Obama told reporters at a news conference in Italy. "That doesn't make it easy. It's hard. And we are having a whole series of constant negotiations."
Conservative Democrats are demanding significant changes before they will support a sweeping health care overhaul, forcing the House to join the Senate in stalling Obama's top domestic priority. Democratic leaders had set an ambitious timetable for the House and Senate to vote on legislation before the August recess.
Asked if it were "do-or-die" if the timetable slipped, Obama said: "I never believe anything is do-or-die. But I really want to get it done by the August recess."
The "Blue Dog Democrats" group released a list of demands on the eve of House Democratic leaders' planned unveiling of their final bill Friday. The bill release was pushed back to next week and Democratic leaders spent part of Friday meeting with the fiscally conservative Blue Dogs to work through their concerns.
"The message that was sent was heard loud and clear," Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., a member of the group, said Friday. The group's concerns were the need for more cost containment measures, protections for small businesses and a focus on rural health care.
"We cannot support a final product that fails to" address these issues, members of the group wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Opposition from the 52-member group could imperil House passage of a bill.
Before Thursday, delays and internal Democratic disputes over taxes and the role of government had seemed mostly confined to the Senate. A bipartisan deal emerging in the Senate Finance Committee was threatened this week when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other top Democrats indicated displeasure with the likely payment method, a new tax on health care benefits.
That has left Finance Committee members scrambling for alternative taxes to replace the $320 billion the benefits tax would have raised over a decade. Democrats are considering raising taxes on wealthy investors instead, along with other options, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations. The proposal to extend the current 1.45 percent Medicare payroll tax to capital gains earned by high-income taxpayers would bring in an estimated $100 billion over 10 years.
In the House, Democratic leaders had hoped to release an ambitious bill Friday that would achieve Obama's goals of holding down health care costs and extending insurance to the 50 million people who lack it. Insurers would have to cover all comers, employers would be required to offer insurance and individuals would be required to purchase it, with subsidies for the poor. The tax-writing Ways and Means Committee met throughout the day Thursday to try to finalize plans on how to pay for the plan, with an income surcharge on high-earners of some 3 percent or more emerging as the leading option.
But the move by the Blue Dogs scrambled the equation. It was unclear whether Democratic leaders would be able to satisfy the group's demands since in some cases they're far apart from draft language produced by the three House committees writing health legislation.
Also unclear was whether the setbacks would amount to anything more than a brief delay for a bill of enormous complexity and controversy.
With House leaders scrambling to address moderate Democrats' concerns, business groups increased the pressure on House leaders with letters objecting to pivotal parts of the evolving plans.
The National Coalition on Benefits, representing major business groups and companies like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AT&T, told House leaders that business would be hurt by requiring employer coverage of workers, creating a public insurance plan and other proposals.
"The proposal in its current form needs serious revision," their letter said.
The National Retail Federation wrote leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee to say the House plan would cost jobs and shift health costs to employers.
___
Associated Press writers David Espo, Alan Fram and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090710/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_overhaul
WASHINGTON – House Democrats plan to pay for a sweeping health care overhaul by boosting taxes on the wealthy.
The taxes will hit households with incomes of $350,000 a year and above.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel of New York said the tax would raise $540 billion over 10 years.
In combination with cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that would pay for a comprehensive health bill in the range of $1 trillion.
Rangel told reporters of the decision after a day of meetings on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Friday acknowledged the tough going for health care overhaul as lawmakers struggled with fresh divisions over how to pay for comprehensive legislation.
"We're closer to that significant reform than at any time in recent history," Obama told reporters at a news conference in Italy. "That doesn't make it easy. It's hard. And we are having a whole series of constant negotiations."
Conservative Democrats are demanding significant changes before they will support a sweeping health care overhaul, forcing the House to join the Senate in stalling Obama's top domestic priority. Democratic leaders had set an ambitious timetable for the House and Senate to vote on legislation before the August recess.
Asked if it were "do-or-die" if the timetable slipped, Obama said: "I never believe anything is do-or-die. But I really want to get it done by the August recess."
The "Blue Dog Democrats" group released a list of demands on the eve of House Democratic leaders' planned unveiling of their final bill Friday. The bill release was pushed back to next week and Democratic leaders spent part of Friday meeting with the fiscally conservative Blue Dogs to work through their concerns.
"The message that was sent was heard loud and clear," Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., a member of the group, said Friday. The group's concerns were the need for more cost containment measures, protections for small businesses and a focus on rural health care.
"We cannot support a final product that fails to" address these issues, members of the group wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Opposition from the 52-member group could imperil House passage of a bill.
Before Thursday, delays and internal Democratic disputes over taxes and the role of government had seemed mostly confined to the Senate. A bipartisan deal emerging in the Senate Finance Committee was threatened this week when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other top Democrats indicated displeasure with the likely payment method, a new tax on health care benefits.
That has left Finance Committee members scrambling for alternative taxes to replace the $320 billion the benefits tax would have raised over a decade. Democrats are considering raising taxes on wealthy investors instead, along with other options, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations. The proposal to extend the current 1.45 percent Medicare payroll tax to capital gains earned by high-income taxpayers would bring in an estimated $100 billion over 10 years.
In the House, Democratic leaders had hoped to release an ambitious bill Friday that would achieve Obama's goals of holding down health care costs and extending insurance to the 50 million people who lack it. Insurers would have to cover all comers, employers would be required to offer insurance and individuals would be required to purchase it, with subsidies for the poor. The tax-writing Ways and Means Committee met throughout the day Thursday to try to finalize plans on how to pay for the plan, with an income surcharge on high-earners of some 3 percent or more emerging as the leading option.
But the move by the Blue Dogs scrambled the equation. It was unclear whether Democratic leaders would be able to satisfy the group's demands since in some cases they're far apart from draft language produced by the three House committees writing health legislation.
Also unclear was whether the setbacks would amount to anything more than a brief delay for a bill of enormous complexity and controversy.
With House leaders scrambling to address moderate Democrats' concerns, business groups increased the pressure on House leaders with letters objecting to pivotal parts of the evolving plans.
The National Coalition on Benefits, representing major business groups and companies like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AT&T, told House leaders that business would be hurt by requiring employer coverage of workers, creating a public insurance plan and other proposals.
"The proposal in its current form needs serious revision," their letter said.
The National Retail Federation wrote leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee to say the House plan would cost jobs and shift health costs to employers.
___
Associated Press writers David Espo, Alan Fram and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090710/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_overhaul
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Obama compares U.S. health care to struggling GM...
President hits out at critics of public insurance plan
President Barack Obama warned doctors Monday the U.S. health-care system was a ticking time bomb and urged them to support his overhaul, which includes a public insurance plan that many of them view with skepticism.
Obama took his healthcare campaign to the annual meeting of the influential American Medical Association, which represents 250,000 doctors and has historically been opposed to a bigger government role in the healthcare system.
"If we do not fix our health-care system, America may go the way of GM; paying more, getting less, and going broke," Obama said, likening the system to struggling carmaker General Motors, which has filed for bankruptcy protection.
"Make no mistake: the cost of our health care is a threat to our economy," said Obama, who wants a health-care reform bill on his desk by October.
"It is a ticking time bomb for the federal budget. And it is unsustainable for the United States of America," he said.
The U.S. health-care industry costs about $2.5 trillion annually, but leaves 46 million Americans uninsured and with little access to medical care.
The president's speech comes as debate sharpens over elements of the health-care overhaul being drafted by Congress, including how to pay for the plan and whether it should include a public insurance program to compete with private insurers.
Many Republicans reject a public plan and say there is not enough support in Congress for it. They argue it would ultimately drive private insurers out of business.
The AMA also has expressed doubts about any public plan that would be similar to the Medicare program for the elderly.
"I understand you are concerned that today's Medicare rates will be applied broadly in a way that means our cost savings are coming off your backs," Obama said. "These are legitimate concerns, but ones, I believe, that can be overcome."
After hearing Obama's speech, the AMA said it was premature to judge the administration without knowing details of how it planned to change the health-insurance system.
"What you heard today was a call for a thoughtful analysis of all the options," AMA president Dr. Nancy Nielsen said.
Obama received a standing ovation when he raised the issue of doctors being afraid to practise because of lawsuits, but there were a few boos seconds later when he said he did not support caps on malpractice awards.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The Obama Administration's view of health care taken from barakobama.com
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
The Current Situation
Making sure every American has access to high quality health care is one of the most important challenges of our time. The number of uninsured Americans is growing, premiums are skyrocketing, and more people are being denied coverage every day. A moral imperative by any measure, a better system is also essential to rebuilding our economy -- we want to make health insurance work for people and businesses, not just insurance and drug companies.
The Solution
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Reform the health care system:
We will take steps to reform our system by expanding coverage, improving quality, lowering costs, honoring patient choice and holding insurance companies accountable.
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Promote scientific and technological advancements:
We are committed to putting responsible science and technological innovation ahead of ideology when it comes to medical research. We believe in the enormous capacity of American ingenuity to find cures for diseases that continue to extinguish too many lives and cause too much suffering every year.
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Improve preventative care:
In order to keep our people healthy and provide more efficient treatment we need to promote smart preventative care, like cancer screenings and better nutrition, and make critical investments in electronic health records, technology that can reduce errors while ensuring privacy and saving lives.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
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