Health Care

The High Drama Behind Reid's Public Option Decision

Brian Beutler | October 28, 2009, 6:40PM

Today, everyone's officially on the same page. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and his leadership team, and the White House all stand behind the Senate health care bill, which, as we learned this week, includes a public option. But the days leading up to Reid's big Monday announcement were perhaps more trying for leading Democrats than has been publicly acknowledged, or than today's picture of calm would lead you to believe.

Much of the hoopla surrounding Reid's decision centers around a tense Thursday night meeting between President Obama and Senate health care principals--including Reid and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)--at the White House. But according to sources briefed on White House-Senate health care negotiations, things began boiling over earlier in the week, when a key question was, Who's going to take the blame when the public option doesn't make it in to the base health care bill?

According to a source briefed on White House-Senate health care negotiations, the public option's saving grace was its political popularity with the Democratic base. The source described the back and forth between Senate health care principals and the White House as a "sort of stare down where the two sides were saying, 'you be the face of pulling it out.' Reid wants Obama to do it to give cover to his caucus, Obama wants Reid to do it so he's not the bad guy on the public option, and can still walk away with a win with reform, with bipartisanship, and with a card for everybody running for re-election."

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Chuck Schumer

Key Democratic Senators Correct Lieberman On The Public Option

Brian Beutler | October 28, 2009, 3:06PM

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Key public option supporters in the Senate Democratic Caucus pushed back today on different objections raised by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) to the idea of including a public option in health care reform.

"I think one of the problems the leader is working through...is that there have been a number of theories about what a public option is that have been kicked around," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in response to a question from TPMDC. "On the Senate side, in the [HELP] Committee, we chose to...make sure that these public options were self sustaining."

Lieberman has suggested both that the public option would be a drain on taxpayers, and that it would drive up private insurance premiums, in contrast to the findings of most experts.

"I think there's a bit of a function of trying to make sure that everybody's clear exactly what it is that we're proposing," Whitehouse said. "I think once the actual text of the bill is out and it's clear that the HELP language is what was adopted. I think we'll be successfully able to make the case to Senator Lieberman that there is not a subsidy here and it is not an entitlement."

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) added his own two cents as well.

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Health Care

Schumer: We Prevailed On White House That Public Option Was The Way To Go

Brian Beutler | October 26, 2009, 7:41PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

So how did we go from a White House at loggerheads with the Senate leadership last Thursday night over a public option, to a deal today that's exactly what the leadership wanted?

This evening I spoke with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who was in that infamous Thursday night meeting with President Obama and other Senate leaders--and who has been one of the most persistent advocates of a public option on Capitol Hill. As Schumer explains it, the disagreement between the White House and Senate wasn't substantive so much as it was tactical: The White House had its doubts that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could really get 60 votes for a public option with an opt out for states.

"The President listened very carefully," Schumer said in an interview moments ago. "He wanted to make sure that the strategy upon which we were embarking had the ability to carry through."

Schumer has been at the center of the fight over the public option from the earliest days of the health care debate--always there to pull it back from the brink when it at times seemed on the verge of collapse. This situation was no different. After the Thursday meeting, four sources in different Democratic offices told me that the White House had suggested they believed a strategy of pursuing Sen. Olympia Snowe's preferred compromise--a triggered public option--might be an easier path to 60 votes. In the end, though, Schumer and the rest of leadership seem to have prevailed upon President Obama that they've picked the right strategy.

"I think substantively the White House probably preferred a stronger public option than a trigger," Schumer said. "We talked about this for a while in leadership and the White House wanted to hear our thoughts--and when they heard them they thought that this was the right strategy to get our caucus together."

Today, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the President stands behind Reid as he builds support for the public plan.

"A lot of people around here have faith in Harry Reid's abilty to count votes," Schumer told me.

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Chuck Schumer

Schumer: Opt-Out Is 'The Best Compromise' That Can Potentially Get 60 Votes

Eric Kleefeld | October 26, 2009, 3:31PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has released this statement, on Harry Reid's announcement of a public option proposal that includes an opt-out mechanism for states:

"Leader Reid has always been a strong supporter of a public option that could help keep the insurers honest, and today he showed just how deep his commitment is. The public option has new life because as Americans have learned more about it, they have come to see it is the best way to reduce costs and increase competition in the health insurance industry. This form of public option is not exactly what either liberals or moderates would want. But a public plan based on a level playing field, with an opt-out for states, is the best compromise that has the potential of getting 60 votes in the Senate."

Jay Rockefeller

Rockefeller: White House Approach To Public Option 'Difficult To Fathom' Sometimes

Brian Beutler | October 21, 2009, 3:54PM

Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)

I just spoke with Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who had a bit of a fractured take on the current state of the public option. He took issue with the President Obama's aloof approach to the public option, and at the same time echoed one of the administration's most controversial lines.

"They're a little difficult to fathom sometimes, to keep up with what they're doing," Rockefeller said. "They're in these meetings, all of these meetings, that I don't get to go to so I can't tell you exactly what they're saying."

But he also said something that seems a bit at odds with his consistent, emphatic support for the measure, which he has described as a necessary element of reform. "You know, the public option--which I think in the end is going to prevail--is not actually the biggest thing in the entire bill," Rockefeller told me. "I hate to hear myself say that, but it's true."

Earlier today, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)--another ardent public option enthusiast--said much the same thing after an event heralding a plan to strip the health insurance industry of its anti-trust exemption.

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Health Care

Key Senators, White House Officials, To Discuss Public Option Tonight

Brian Beutler | October 21, 2009, 12:20PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Silence is golden. That's Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's mantra as he heads the delicate process of crafting a single Senate health care bill from two separate packages. But so far, the House's swift and decisive action on the public option seems to have had little impact on the hiss position.

Reid is adamant that the insurance industry should lose a decades-old anti-trust exemption that allows companies to divvy up markets and agree not to compete against one another. But he and other senators are still mum about whether they'll systematically end the non-competitive nature of health insurance markets by including a public option in the Senate's health care bill.

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Health Care

Conrad Settles Into Familiar Role: 'Hard To See How A Public Option Gets The Votes'

Brian Beutler | October 15, 2009, 1:44PM

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)

Before members of the Senate Finance Committee were forced to go on the record about the public option, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) refused to state a personal opinion on the question calling it "moot," and focusing all of his efforts on advancing a system of private, non-profit co-operatives instead.

Since then, though, Conrad's message has changed slightly, though he still says a public option will be a hard sell in the Senate. In response to a question from TPMDC, Conrad said it's "hard to see" where the public option gets the votes.

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Health Care

Reid Dismisses Schumer's Insistence That Public Option Is In His Hands

Brian Beutler | October 14, 2009, 2:54PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Speaking to reporters just outside the Senate chamber this afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scoffed at the suggestion--articulated last night by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)--that the public option is simply in his hands.

"He would rather say anything so it wasn't up to him," Reid said, before departing for a meeting with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and Sens. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Chris Dodd (D-CT). The four will hold the first meeting about how to shape a health care bill that will soon be introduced on the Senate floor.

Other senators have been significantly less vocal than Schumer (at least in public) with respect to what steps Reid should take to include the public option. I caught up with Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and asked him whether he agreed with Schumer. He said, "I'm definitely for the public option, I want it included in the final bill. I'm gonna leave it up to the Majority Leader's judgment and the vote of the Senate as to when that's going to take place."

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) was less forthcoming. "I never second guess the leadership on what kind of procedural moves they make," he said. "I just vote as I choose. I don't comment on their decisions."

Health Care

Key Senators, Rahm, To Hold Inaugural Meeting On Senate Health Care Bill

Brian Beutler | October 14, 2009, 10:13AM

Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel

At 2:30 this afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will host Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in the first of several meetings presaging the merger of two major health care bills. The foursome is expected to discuss key issues at the heart of the reform process--affordability, Medicare, the public option, revenues--but no decisions are expected today.

The meeting kicks off a process that may be the most important of the entire health care debate. Reid, in consultation with Senate health care leaders and White House officials will crib from the Senate HELP Committee's health care bill, and the more conservative Senate Finance Committee health care bill, which was voted favorably out of committee after multiple delays yesterday.

Reid and the White House will be the focus of a great deal of attention in the coming days from the liberal base, which is adamant that health care reform include a public option, and that party leaders prevent rank and file senators from joining Republicans in a filibuster of the final bill. If Reid decides that the legislation he brings to the floor will include a public option it would be a game changer--and public option supporters within his own party aren't being shy about their preference.

Additional reporting by Christina Bellantoni

Health Care

Flawed Insurance Industry Report Is Rallying Cry For Obama Grassroots Group

Brian Beutler | October 14, 2009, 9:12AM

President Barack Obama speaks at a Human Rights Campaign event.

One of the key dynamics at yesterday's historic Senate Finance Committee hearing was the schism between Democrats and Republicans on the findings of a health insurance industry-designed analysis of the Baucus Bill. While Republicans were cautiously willing to accept the report, Democrats used it to highlight the need for true reform. And now, President Obama's grassroots political organization is attempting some similar jujitsu.

In a letter to members, Organizing for America describes the industry report as "a blatant scare tactic designed to frighten voters and bully Congress...Send a message urging Congress to stand with voters, not D.C. lobbyists, and pass real reform."

You can read the entire letter below the fold. Yesterday, Democratic senators were almost giddy that the unpopular industry had decided to take them on, predicting that the move would actually make reform more likely to pass. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) even predicted that the report had even improved the chances that the final bill will include a public option.

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Health Care

Key Senators React To Passage Of The Finance Committee Health Care Bill

Brian Beutler | October 13, 2009, 3:02PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

In the wake of the successful vote on the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill, key senators weighed in on the most hot button issues at the heart of the reform fight: the public option and budget reconciliation. Both Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Chuck Schumer said during the hearing that the final package must include a public option.

But after the vote, in a response to a question from TPMDC, Schumer said, "I'm not drawing any lines in the sand." But, he added in response to a separate question, that the recent AHIP/PwC analysis make the ultimate inclusion of the public option "more likely."

On the separate issue of whether this means Democrats can avoid turning to the controversial budget reconciliation process, Finance chairman Max Baucus told reporters that he's "very confident" that the bipartisan vote today will be able to pass health care reform through the regular order.

We'll bring you more responses as they flow in.

Health Care

A New Public Option Compromise Shows Promise--But Let's Not Get Ahead Of Ourselves

Brian Beutler | October 8, 2009, 6:29PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

The story of the day on the health care beat belongs to Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Tom Carper (D-DE). Their new proposal to devise a national public option in such a way that states could choose not to participate quickly overtook yesterday's news from the CBO that the Senate Finance Committee bill would save billions of dollars. But is it the long-sought solution to the public option conundrum?

The short answer is: it's way too early to tell.

"The amount of ink and media attention being spilled on this issue bears little relationship to where it is in the process," said one leadership aide.

Conversations with a number of Senate aides from across the Democratic spectrum all touched on the same theme: The idea may be decent on the merits, and appealing to some key conservative Democrats. But all 60? Or 59 plus Olympia Snowe? That's hard to answer when the concept hasn't even been fully fleshed out. And yet, it's almost certain that, as an amendment to the bill that ultimately reaches the Senate floor, it would need 60 one way or another.

Then there are House liberals, who remain extremely focused on a Medicare-like public option, available everywhere. They're not saying much about this idea just yet, but from initial conversations with House aides, it's unlikely that they're going to drop their campaign for a robust public option and get on the "opt-out" bandwagon. Whether they would ultimately settle for such a compromise if it came out of a conference committee is a question whose answer enters the realm of multiple levels of speculation. There's no denying that the initial reception by both liberal and conservative Democrats has been generally positive. But as the quote above indicates, we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves.

Health Care

Conservative And Liberal Democrats Warm To Public Option Compromise

Brian Beutler | October 8, 2009, 3:25PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Both conservative and liberal Democrats seem to be open to a new public option proposal floated by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Tom Carper (D-DE) to allow states not to participate in the plan if they decide they don't want to.

A Baucus aide tells me "Senator Baucus will look closely at this proposal, as well as other proposals, and could consider supporting them as part of an overall package as long as it achieved his health care reform goals while getting 60 votes."

Along the same lines, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) told Politico that he likes the idea of leaving the decision up to the states.

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Chuck Schumer

Schumer: Opt-Out Public Option Gaining Steam

Brian Beutler | October 8, 2009, 10:58AM

We're chasing the ball on a new idea (is it a trial balloon? is it the magic answer?) to pass a health care bill with a public option that states--likely small, and conservative states--could choose not to participate in.

As I reported last night, the idea comes from Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), and is being pushed by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)--a man with no shortage of clout on the Hill. Appearing on MSNBC a few moments ago, Schumer said the idea's gaining traction.

"That's one of the things being very seriously considered," Schumer said. "I'm not going to -- we have a range of things we're considering. Senator Carper and I met for quite a while last night and made progress and talked to a large number of members last night, yesterday. And I am optimistic that there will be some kind of public option in the bill the president signs. I'm very optimistic."

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Chuck Schumer

Senators Discussing Public Option Opt-Out As Potential Compromise

Brian Beutler | October 7, 2009, 7:03PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Over at the Huffington Post, Sam Stein reports on an interesting, potential health care compromise that would allow states to opt out of what would otherwise be a national public option.

TPMDC has learned that the idea was reportedly conceived by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), who also proposed a separate compromise that would allow states to opt in to a public option. A Carper aide confirms that he's taking a close look at the idea.

Interestingly, the nascent proposal also appears to have the backing of Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) who's been shopping it around to colleagues, according to one Senate source.

Asked for comment, an aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "Sen. Reid is open to any proposal that lowers cost and increases competition."

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David Paterson

Schumer And Gillibrand Dodge Questions On Paterson Endorsement

Rachel Slajda | October 7, 2009, 11:50AM

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

At an event endorsing New York City mayoral candidate Bill Thompson on Monday, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand would not say whether they'll endorse Gov. David Paterson in next year's gubernatorial election.

Asked about an endorsement, Schumer said: "You know, these are very, very difficult times for a governor, any governor, giving the economy and everything else. I'm doing everything I can to help David Paterson work together and maximize New York's help from Washington."

"As for elections, let's stick to this one today. One election today," he added, according to the Daily News.

As for Gillibrand, she said, "Well, I support the governor and, you know, he said he's going to run and we are all focused right now on this election cycle."

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