Administration Approvingly Cites Report Critical Of Key Elements Of Health Care Reform

The White House is touting a new report from the typically conservative Business Roundtable, which has some kind things to say about health care reform proposals making their way through Congress.

"A new report released today by the Business Roundtable underscores what experts and businesspeople have told us all along - comprehensive health insurance reform is one of the most important investments we can make in American competitiveness," President Obama said in a statement.

And indeed, the report does have some kind things to say about current legislation. But it isn't wholly positive. "The current proposals are missing some ingredients needed to drive the type of system-wide change that can "bend the future trend" significantly and permanently," the report reads.

Specifically, it pushes back against the public option: "Structuring a public plan option with payments equal to or slightly greater than Medicare rates risks exacerbating current cost shifting," pushing up costs for private plans and driving employers out of the employer-based system. "In light of the significant risks to private health insurance coverage associated with a public plan and the expected availability of competitive options through the exchanges, the potential savings from reductions in federal spending could have the adverse impact of significantly raising private health plan costs for employers and employees."

It should be noted that the public option plans in Congress are not tied to Medicare rates, and would be negotiated directly with providers.

The report also objects to the excise tax on high-end health insurance plans, and touts the potential savings to businesses of medical liability reform, which isn't part of the plans in Congress.

So, yes, the plan does applaud certain aspects of the legislation--and by comparison to the harsh appraisal you'd expect from the Chamber of Commerce, the Roundtable's report is quite positive. But you're as likely to see it cited by reforms opponents as by the administration and Democratic leaders.