Health Care

Snowe May Withhold Trigger Amendment Until Full Senate Debates Health Care

Brian Beutler | September 30, 2009, 5:10PM

One of the most anticipated amendments to the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill was introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME). If adopted, it would create triggered public options at the state level if private insurance companies didn't make insurance affordable and available everywhere. But yesterday, when the Committee considered a separate pair of public option amendments, Snowe's proposal wasn't on the agenda.

Senate sources suggest Snowe may withhold the amendment until health care legislation hits the floor next month. And a Snowe spokesperson confirms that, though the situation is very fluid right now, that is a possibility.

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Barack Obama

Why Is Obama Still Smiling? Look at the Polls

Eric Kleefeld | September 30, 2009, 12:50PM

President Barack Obama

A slew of recent polling data points to a conclusion that might have seemed hard to believe amidst the town hall craziness in the dog days of August and early September: President Obama's numbers have not only stabilized but actually seem to be showing a modest uptick. And by several other measures the political landscape for Democrats isn't nearly as bleak as it was being portrayed just a few weeks ago.

To be sure, the evidence is insufficient to point to any dramatic, long-run Obama resurgence -- at least for now. But there's enough data to conclude that August, rather than being a public support train-wreck for the president was actually an inflection point, when the downward trend flattened out, and
in some cases began crawling back upward.

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Health Care

Reid Cancels Columbus Day Recess to Focus on Health Care

Brian Beutler | September 30, 2009, 12:42PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has made good on a threat to cancel a week-long October recess to continue work on health care.

"I talked to the Republican leader about this last week," Reid said on the Senate floor this morning. "But the Columbus day is fast approaching. It's the week after next. And with all the things going on here, it just would not be right for us to take that week off. So what we're going to do, as I explained to the Republican leader last week, we'll be off that Monday, which is the holiday, Columbus day, and the following Friday."

Once the Finance Committee finishes work on its health care legislation, Reid will merge it with a different bill, and then bring it to the Senate floor. The week of October 12 seems a bit early for the floor debate to have kicked off, but this could at least prevent any further delays.

Health Care

Progressive Groups Turn Up Heat on Baucus, Snowe in Wake of Public Option Votes

Brian Beutler | September 30, 2009, 10:11AM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Moments after the Senate Finance Committee rejected two public option amendments yesterday, two groups that have been targeting the panel's chairman Max Baucus, and key Republican Olympia Snowe latched on to their votes in a fundraising bid to turn up the heat on both senators.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America have been running hard hitting ads in Montana, Maine, and Washington, DC, targeting Baucus and Snowe for failing to support a public option. With their votes registered, the groups are now seeking to extend the ad buys:

"Today, we are raising our fundraising goal to $200,000 to PUMMEL Baucus and Snowe with ads in their home states featuring the voices of their constituents," reads an email from PCCC to members.

You can see the ads here and here. And you can read the entire letter below the fold.

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Health Care

Lincoln: We Can Accomplish Health Care Reform Without A Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 29, 2009, 7:22PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) wasn't on hand in the Finance Committee hearing room to oppose against the public option in person. But below is her official statement with respect to the "no" vote she issued by proxy.

Arkansans have told me they support health care reform that forces insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions and prevents them from dropping coverage when you become seriously ill. We can achieve these goals, stabilize the cost of coverage for Arkansans who have health insurance, and expand coverage to the uninsured and underinsured without creating a purely public, new government program, which most Arkansans do not support. I have promised my constituents that I will fight for health insurance reform that is deficit neutral, now and in the future, and that creates more choices for small businesses and their workers and the self-employed. These are important priorities that I believe we can achieve.

In addition, I am working to ensure that requiring Americans to purchase health insurance does not result in a personal windfall for health insurance company executives. My amendment would cut the tax shelter, from $1 million to $500,000, of what businesses are able to deduct for executive compensation. This is a fair policy change aimed at lowering insurance costs to consumers and reassuring them that insurance companies are not receiving excessive tax breaks while at the same time profiting from a government mandate.

Not very good news for reformers. The key questions down the line will be whether she's willing to filibuster a public option amendment or an entire health care reform bill on the grounds that it contains a public option.

Health Care

The Public Option Lost Today, But Future Fights Could Be Less Daunting

Brian Beutler | September 29, 2009, 6:06PM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)

The spin war is on to frame today's losing public option votes in the Senate Finance Committee. And though no reformer can honestly say today's news was good news, they're also on perfectly safe ground saying that today's news was expected, and that the public option is in no worse shape today than it was yesterday.

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Health Care

Schumer Public Option Amendment Fails in Finance Committee

Brian Beutler | September 29, 2009, 3:42PM

The Senate Finance Committee can't even endorse a modest public option like Chuck Schumer's. Citing his belief that a public option can't pass on the Senate floor "at this time," Finance chairman Max Baucus joined two Democrats and all Republicans in voting down the amendment, which failed 10 to 13.

Joining Baucus on the Democrats' side of the dais were Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and, by proxy, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) who wasn't present for the vote.

There will be no public option in the Finance Committee's health care bill.

Health Care

Senate Finance Commitee Debates Schumer's "Level Playing Field" Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 29, 2009, 3:00PM

Introducing his public option amendment, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) cited many of the differences between his proposal and the more robust public option offered unsuccessfully by Jay Rockefeller: No providers would be forced to take public option insurance, and the government would not be allowed to set prices. These differences are crucial, and reformers don't like them, but they do mean less government involvement and undermine the criticism of a number of conservative Senate Democrats. So let's see how they vote.

3:06 p.m.: Bill Nelson, who voted against the Rockefeller public option, says "I will vote for the Schumer amendment." Well, that clears that up.

3:16 p.m.: Kent Conrad says the fact that the Schumer amendment is an improvement over Rockefeller's because it's not tied to Medicare. But he says he worries that the House's bill will be tied to Medicare, and now he's saying he doesn't like that it's government run. He also continues to misconstrue the French health care system.

3:20 p.m.: Conrad didn't ultimately say whether he'd vote yes or no--he seems like a no, he's probably a no, but let's keep an eye out. He opposed the Rockefeller amendment on the grounds that it was tied to Medicare, but Schumer's plan is specifically not designed that way. That dramatically undercuts his argument. What will he do?

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Health Care

Rockefeller's Public Option Amendment Fails; Schumer's Public Option Up Next

Brian Beutler | September 29, 2009, 2:43PM

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)

After debating all morning and well into the afternoon, the Senate Finance Committee voted against an amendment, written by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) that would have added a public option to the panel's health care reform bill.

The final vote was 8-15 with 5 Democrats--Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT)--voting with all Republicans to kill the proposal.

Next up, Chuck Schumer's more modest public option proposal.

Health Care

Finance Committee Continues Consideration of Rockefeller's Public Option Amendment

Brian Beutler | September 29, 2009, 1:50PM

Sen. Rockefeller, Sen. Schumer, and Sen. Baucus

The Senate Finance Committee is back from lunch and picking up where it left off--debating an amendment by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) that would add a public option to Max Baucus' health care proposal.

1:55 p.m.: Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) doesn't like the public option...but he thinks all government officials and their staffs should be on it if the Democrats create one. A lot of Democrats oppose this ("it's a public option, including for us). But for what it's worth, the Senate HELP committee adopted an amendment that institutes this requirement, but only to members of Congress and their staffs.

2:03 p.m. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) notes smartly that any public option tied to Medicare will be tied to a newer, better Medicare that will correct for rural disparities, and reward providers that provide cost-effective care, and move away from fee for service. That undermines Kent Conrad's objection to a pretty significant extent. More on this soon.

2:09 p.m.Cantwell also says she'll be offering an amendment that will allow private insurers to team with the government to negotiate lower rates. Your move, Kent!

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Health Care

Rockefeller Says His Public Option Would Save $50 Billion Over 10 Years

Brian Beutler | September 29, 2009, 10:25AM

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has introduced his public option amendment before the Senate Finance Committee. In making the pitch to the panel's skeptics, he's noted that it will save the federal government about $50 billion over 10 years, and would be, as its name implies optional--i.e. it's not a "government takeover" of health care.

Late update: To the chagrin of chairman Max Baucus, Rockefeller is lambasting the insurance industry, and citing a number of ways other health care reform bills do a better job at reining in their excesses. He cited insurance industry whistleblower Wendell Potter, who said that, without a public option, health care reform legislation might as well be named the "Insurance Industry Profit Protection Act."

The House bill, Rockefeller noted, would place strict limits on the so-called medical-loss ratio (i.e. percentage of each premium dollar that can go to profits, administrative costs, and other non-health care related activities.)

Late, late update: It's worth mentioning that you can follow the hearing at this link.

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Health Care

Nelson: Health Care Reform Needs 65 Votes To Be Legitimate

Brian Beutler | September 29, 2009, 10:05AM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) continues to be a scold to the liberals in his party. Before a crowd of over 200 gathered at a senior center in Nebraska, Nelson said health care reform ought to pass with 65 votes--a feat which would require at least five Republicans to break with their party.

"I think anything less than that would challenge its legitimacy," he said.

Nelson didn't go so far as to say that he'd oppose a bill that had less than 64 other votes. But he did say he disagreed with the party's legislative approach to the issue.

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Health Care

Today's the Day: Public Option Votes in the Senate Finance Committee

Brian Beutler | September 29, 2009, 9:20AM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)

As I laid out moments after the proposed amendments to the Baucus bill were announced, the public option will have its day on the Senate Finance Committee.

That day is today. The 23-member panel will consider amendments sponsored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that, if adopted, would add a public option into the panel's health care reform bill.

Two things to keep in mind if you're watching the hearing or reading news accounts about the developments: the two proposals are very different, and neither is expected to pass. The Rockefeller amendment is a version of what we've come to know as the "robust" public option. It would, for a time, be tied to Medicare, and, thereafter, be able to use the government's considerable leverage to bargain down payment rates with providers.

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Health Care

Kennedy's Successor Confirms His Support for Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 28, 2009, 5:48PM

Interim Senate appointee Paul Kirk (D-MA)

There was never much doubt about this, but just to make it official, Sen. Paul Kirk (D-MA) does indeed support a public option.

"Senator Kirk believes there should be a public option to keep costs down and keep insurance companies honest," says his spokesman, Keith Maley. "[D]uring his short service in the United States Senate, he looks forward to seeing what can be done to reach that goal."

It comes as no surprise, of course, that a Massachusetts Democrat replacing Ted Kennedy supports a public option. But this demonstrates that, with Kennedy's seat filled, the 60th vote for health care reform won't necessarily belong to public option skeptic Olympia Snowe--and the question of a public option is technically one for Democrats to answer alone.

Health Care

HCAN: Snowe Still Important, But in the End the Public Option's Up to Democrats

Brian Beutler | September 28, 2009, 5:26PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

A lot of the most pressing political questions about health care reform will soon be answered, and reformers and pols alike are grappling with the fact that Democrats now have enough votes to pass a public option without any Republican votes.

"Hopefully when push comes to shove, Democrats will support a strong public option, and do the right thing," said Jacki Schechner of the reform campaign Health Care for America Now.

"We're in a good spot right now," added Schechner. "We'll see where we are after tomorrow.

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Health Care

Grijalva Hits Baucus and Obama, Remains Firm on Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 28, 2009, 2:59PM

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

The public option-stakes will continue this week, with most eyes on the developments in the Finance Committee. But on the other side of the Hill, progressives continue to insist that, whatever happens in the Senate, one chamber still insists that health care legislation include a public option.

In a new op-ed, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus blasts the proposal written by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) saying it's "all about the insurance industry's bottom line: no teeth in enforcements and regulations, endless patent hoarding for the pharmaceutical industry and laws that rein in citizens to pay these industries the largest transfer of wealth in history," and adding that a bill without a public option would be "unacceptable".

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Health Care

Reid Supports a Public Option, But Will He Include One in the Senate Health Care Bill?

Brian Beutler | September 28, 2009, 1:06PM

Two telling indicators suggest that, despite a true 60 vote majority, the public option may nonetheless face an uphill climb in the Senate. On Friday, during a tele-townhall, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told an audience of constituents that he thinks a "triggered" public option is a "pretty doggone good idea"--not as good as a robust public option, but better than the private co-op proposal that for a time was regarded as a likely compromise between Democrats, who support a public option, and Republicans, who do not support health care reform.

Today, citing anonymous Democratic sources, the New York Times reports that Reid will likely not include a public option in a final legislative proposal when he merges the Finance and HELP committee bills.

Officially, Reid says it's too early to have decided what will and will not be included in the package he introduces on the Senate floor--the public option will get more than one vote in the Finance Committee this week, and only if it fails (as is expected) will Reid have to decide whether to incorporate it from the HELP bill, or to drop it.

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Health Care

Poll: Even Republican Voters Favor The Public Option

Eric Kleefeld | September 25, 2009, 11:39AM

A crowd gathers at a tea party

The new CBS/New York Times poll not only shows overwhelming support for the public option -- it shows that a plurality of self-identified Republicans are for it, too.

The poll asked this question: "Would you favor or oppose the government offering everyone a government administered health insurance plan -- something like the Medicare coverage that people 65 and older get -- that would compete with private health insurance plans?"

The top-line result is 65% in favor, 26% opposed. Among Democrats only, it's 81%-12%, and independents are at 61%-30%. And among Republican respondents, 47% are in favor, to 42% opposed.

Public Option

Schumer And Rockefeller: We Will Get Public Option

Ben Frumin | September 24, 2009, 7:24PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)

I just got off a conference call with Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). They are confident -- very confident -- that health care reform will include a public option.

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Public Option

Sherrod Brown: Rahm's 'Wrong' On Public Option Chances In Senate

Rachel Slajda | September 24, 2009, 6:40PM

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Appearing on the Ed Show tonight, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was "wrong" when he appeared pessimistic about the chances of a public option making it through the Senate.

"We'll get enough votes," Brown said, citing bills that have passed through three House committees and the Senate HELP Committee with a public option.

Emanuel is "wrong, because of this: Not every Democrat right now would prefer the public option in the Senate ... but no Democrat in the end is going to vote against a procedural question to kill the health care bill," he said.

"The 60 Democrats will stay together on procedural questions and then, on final passage, some may vote against it because it's got a public option. But I don't see that," he said. Brown added that at least 50 Democrats in the Senate support the public option.

Senate Finance Committee

Rockefeller To Cornyn: You're In The Insurance Industry's Pocket

Rachel Slajda | September 24, 2009, 6:17PM

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

The Senate Finance Committee markup of its health care reform bill has had a few heated moments over the past few days. But this one, spotted by Think Progress, caught our eye.

Discussing one of Sen. John Cornyn's (R-TX) amendments, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said, "If there's anything which is clear, it's that the insurance industry is not running this markup, but it is running certain people in this markup."

He went on to say that Cornyn's amendment -- one that would add caveats to an employer mandate -- "is about giving subsidies to insurance companies... instead of giving it, helping people. This is the grandfather of all grandfathers."

"With all due respect, Senator, I don't know what amendment you're referring to --," Cornyn said.

"I'm referring to yours," Rockefeller said.

"You're certainly not referring to my amendment --," Cornyn said.

"I am," Rockefeller said.

Video after the jump.

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Health Care

Pelosi Promises To Post Health Care Bill For 72 Hours Before Voting

Rachel Slajda | September 24, 2009, 2:36PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Accepting Republican demands, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has promised to post health care reform legislation online for 72 hours before a final vote on the bill, The Hill reports.

House Republicans, including Minority Leader John Boehner, have introduced a petition to require three days for lawmakers to read the final bill before voting. Two Democrats, Brian Baird and Walt Minnick, have also signed on. At today's press conference, Pelosi said she would "absolutely" support the petition.

A discharge petition forces a bill onto the floor without the support of leadership and needs 218 signatures to do so. But with Pelosi saying she supports legislation that would require the 72-hour window, its backers might not need the discharge petition at all.

A Senate Republican, Jim Bunning (R-KY), introduced an amendment to the Senate Finance Committee bill that would have required the same thing. It was voted down.

Health Care

Pelosi: 'Trigger Is An Excuse For Not Doing Anything'

Rachel Slajda | September 24, 2009, 2:01PM

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is not ready to accept a trigger option in place of a public option, she said today at a press conference.

"And the evidence seems to point, at this caucus that I just went to, that a trigger is an excuse for not doing anything," she said, reports Greg Sargent. "But everybody is open to listening to what people have to say. The point was made over and over again that for one reason or another the trigger was not effective in the Medicare Part D bill."

But, reports The Hill, she said, "I don't even want to talk about a trigger."

Pelosi has said a bill without a public option will not pass the House. Today's comments seem to show that the trigger would not be an acceptable substituted.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) backs the trigger option, and the White House has reportedly been trying to convince progressive groups to do the same.

Kent Conrad

Conrad: Finance Committee Could Finish Bill Next Week

Eric Kleefeld | September 24, 2009, 1:07PM

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) just appeared on CNN, and was asked by Tony Harris whether a health care bill can get out of the Finance Committee next week. Conrad said yes -- a sign that he could be getting behind Democratic efforts to pass the bill, without slowing it down.

"I think we could," said Conrad. "Look, there are, (laughs), I think it's pretty clear there are some of our colleagues who are engaged in a bit of a stall, a bit of a slowdown. That's understandable -- even though we've been at this in our committee for well more than a year, and we have had hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds of hours of discussion, dozens of meetings, dozens of hearings."

Conrad -- who has himself been one of those people stalling the bill until now -- also specifically refuted the idea that there has been a rush to pass it.

"As I say, our little group of six -- three Democrats, three Republicans -- we've had 61 meetings," he said. "So the notion that somehow there's a rush here, I think is just for those who have kind of tuned in here at the last minute. We've been working on this for well over a year. I think we could complete our part of it by some time next week."

Health Care

Emanuel Pessimistic On Public Option In Senate

Rachel Slajda | September 24, 2009, 12:50PM

Rahm Emanuel

Appearing on Charlie Rose last night, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel sounded less than optimistic that the Senate's health care reform bill would include a public option.

"I think the Senate's been clear what the prospects [are]," Emanuel said. "That doesn't mean in the House, they're not gonna come to the table and demand it."

He also wouldn't say for sure whether there will be a public option in the final legislation.

"It has to be what the conference has to negotiate," he said.

He did, however, say there will be a bill before Congress takes its Thanksgiving recess, and that it won't look quite like the Senate Finance Committee bill.

"The legislative process is a place where both bodies get to contribute," he said.

Video after the jump.

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Karl Rove

Karl Rove: Will Beer Industry Be Next To Face Obama's Anti-Profit Agenda?

Eric Kleefeld | September 24, 2009, 12:24PM

Karl Rove

Forget the death panel stuff -- Karl Rove may have hit on a scare tactic that could really get people angry about a government takeover of health care.

In one paragraph in his latest Wall Street Journal column, Rove wonders which industries might be next to face President Obama's criticism of health insurance profits. Here's the key quote, with emphasis added:

Mr. Obama's dig at profits reveals a certain disdain for markets. Health insurers have a 3.3% profit margin, less than the 4.6% average for all businesses in the country. Drug companies do enjoy, on average, a 17% profit margin. But that's still less than software companies, which earn on average a 22% profit margin. Brewers make 18%. Are these industries the next targets for a revenue hungry Obama administration?

Sure, Obama can pull the plug on grandma -- but if our freedom is threatened on beer, he can count on losing a whole lot of swing states!

Chuck Grassley

Grassley Looks For A New Gang

Rachel Slajda | September 24, 2009, 10:17AM

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

On a conference call with Iowa reporters yesterday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said he's looking to assemble a new bipartisan group to work on health care reform.

Grassley said he's reaching out to have senators from both parties -- and from neither of the committees that are currently working on reform, the Finance Committee and the HELP Committee, The Hill reports.

The hypothetical group would offer amendments to whatever bills come out of those committees.

"I think, though, that it'd be very helpful for people who aren't on the Finance committee or even the HELP committee...would kind of take the bull by the horns themselves and try to coalesce around something that could eventually become more bipartisan," he said.

Health Care

White House Trying to Pave the Way for Triggers with Outside Groups

Brian Beutler | September 23, 2009, 5:18PM

President Obama

A post at the website Open Left by Mike Lux tells a troubling story for progressives.

"Some senior White House staffers are now beginning to try to sell this trigger to progressive groups as the compromise version of a public option, saying the White House doesn't want to have a floor fight in the Senate, and that they can always fix it in conference committee," Lux writes.

That way they can pick up Snowe, satisfy that desperate urge for being officially bipartisan (even though Snowe can't bring a single other Republican with her), and not have to worry about procedural hassles in the Senate.

Lux is a former staffer for President Bill Clinton, and worked for the Obama transition team--not necessarily the first person you'd imagine warning of "an ugly fight within the Democratic Party, further erosion of Obama's standing with his base, the specter of more primary fights."

Off the record interviews and emails with reform leaders resulted in no denials, and two confirmations that Lux's account is correct.

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Kent Conrad

Conrad's Deficit Obsession and Public Option Skepticism Have Put Him Out of Step with Democrats

Brian Beutler | September 23, 2009, 3:29PM

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)

Last night, Kent Conrad nearly gave Max Baucus a heart attack. Or so it seemed. During a hearing about the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill, Conrad said he'd need to see a complete cost analysis of the legislation before he was willing to vote on it--a stipulation that, according to CBO chief Doug Elmendorf, promised to delay the Baucus bill by two weeks.

Conrad ultimately backed off from this demand, and today, with his support, the committee agreed not to hold a vote until a preliminary analysis could be completed--a compromise that will surely shorten the delay by several days. But this was only the latest in a series of power plays that have many Democrats and health care reformers wondering just what his gambit is.

"He's provided us with two main hurdles," said a Senate Democratic aide. "He said from the beginning that he wanted to focus on entitlement reform and deficit reduction...and then he opposed the public option."

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Jim Marshall

Blue Dog Congressman: American Health Care Already "Soviet-Style" With Insurance, Medicare And Medicaid

Eric Kleefeld | September 23, 2009, 3:04PM

Rep. Jim Marshall (D-GA)

Rep. Jim Marshall (D-GA), a Blue Dog Democrat, made an interesting declaration at a town hall in his district: That our health care is already a Soviet-style system of central control and planning by the insurance companies -- and by Medicare and Medicaid.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Marshall distributed a handout at the event. (A copy was also provided to us by Marshall's office.) It referred people to an Atlantic article on the economic distortions in our present health care system, and how care is damaged by disconnecting the patient from the true costs, even with the best of intentions. Key quote from Marshall:

Much of the health care reform debate overlooks this inconvenient truth. I can't. Although it is tough to do politically, this reform effort gives us the opportunity to help our fellow citizens while at the same time helping the country. We should take that opportunity. I believe we need to gradually transition to a health care system that gives individual Americans greater control and responsibility for their health. Our current system is fundamentally broken. It is well intended but grossly wasteful.

Central planning and control didn't work well for the Soviet Union. And it isn't working for American health care, either. That's a pretty dramatic indictment. But it's true. Beginning in World War II, American health care gradually migrated to an inefficient, Soviet-style system of central control and planning provided by health insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid. Our current system largely divorces patients and doctors from the cost of care, causing an explosion in overall costs for little or no overall benefit.

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Congressional Budget Office

Orszag: Health Care Reform Will Be Done in Six Weeks

Brian Beutler | September 23, 2009, 11:36AM

CBO Director Peter Orszag

The Senate Finance Committee continues to tussle over the question of whether to delay a panel vote on health care reform legislation by two weeks. But whatever happens, White House budget directer Peter Orszag says health care reform will be done in about six weeks.

"The goal would be, yes, over the next six weeks or so, maybe sooner," Orszag told Bloomberg.

That would leave plenty of time for the Congressional Budget Office to analyze the final bill--a hybrid of the Finance bill and the HELP committee's bill--before it goes to the floor of the Senate for a full debate. Of course, Republicans will do what they can to slow the process down.

Health Care

Snowe Supports Move to Delay Finance Committee Bill

Brian Beutler | September 23, 2009, 10:21AM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Last night, I reported that there could be a significant delay in the progress of health care reform legislation--that the committee could have to wait for weeks to get a complete CBO score before holding a final vote, or that, if the committee approves the legislation without a score, the full Senate will have to wait two weeks before taking up final health care legislation on the floor.

Right now in the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), is arguing in favor of an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), that would require the committee to wait until the final CBO score is completed before voting on it.

"I don't know what's happening that this has to be put on a fast track," she said.

Chairman Max Baucus doesn't support the proposal, and neither do most Democrats, but it's quite telling that Snowe does.

Late update: The Bunning amendment failed (Snowe's support notwithstanding), but the committee passed an alternative amendment that requires a preliminary CBO analysis be completed before a final vote. And that could still cause a few days' delay.

Health Care

Pelosi Works the Inside Game for the Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 23, 2009, 9:26AM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

A number of reports suggest House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has reversed a July deal she and Democratic health care leaders struck with Blue Dogs that weakened the public option.

But though that's not accurate to the letter, it is indicative of a private fight Pelosi's waging to keep a public option--preferably a strong one--in the final bill.

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Health Care

Elmendorf: Health Care Progress May Not Be Possible for Two Weeks

Brian Beutler | September 22, 2009, 5:53PM

This is somewhat complicated, and I'll flesh it out and get you video just as soon as I can. But with Democrats anxious to pass a health care bill, and avoiding delays seen as a high political priority, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) indicated today that there may be major delays in the health care process going forward. During today's health care hearing, he told CBO chief Doug Elmendorf today that the Senate Finance Committee must be provided with a complete CBO score of the final package before the panel can hold a vote on it.

"With respect to the issue of when scoring might be available, because...it is critically important that we have scoring before a final vote is cast in the committee," Conrad said, "it is important for us to know, once there is a package, after the amendment process here, can you give us some rough estimate, in days to have a CBO score."

How long will that scoring take?

Elmendorf estimated that the full reporting could take two weeks:

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Health Care

Health Insurance Industry Weighs in on Baucuscare

Brian Beutler | September 22, 2009, 1:31PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

The insurance industry has weighed in on Sen. Max Baucus' health care reform proposal, and (not surprisingly) the reviews are pretty positive. In a 13-page letter to Baucus, Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans--the industry's largest professional association--outlines "recommendations for strengthening" the bill and "concerns with key aspects of the proposal."

So what does she like and what doesn't she like? Well there's a lot in there, but two fairly unsurprising objections stand out.

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Health Care

Trying To Move On, Ensign Submits 30 Amendments To HCR Bill

Rachel Slajda | September 22, 2009, 12:51PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

John Ensign (R-NV), a member of the Senate Finance Committee and recent scandal-maker, has submitted 30 amendments for the committee's version of the health care reform bill, the Las Vegas Sun reports.

Most of these changes, which will be voted on in hearings that began this morning, are plays to the conservative base. One would guarantee that seniors wouldn't be dropped from Medicare Advantage and be forced to go on a different government plan. Another would replace the word "fee" with the word "tax" in the bill. One would prohibit funding to ACORN; another would require new health czars be confirmed by the Senate. One would require Social Security cards to be shown in order to get subsidies to buy insurance, in order to prevent illegal immigrants from getting such subsidies.

Ensign seems to be trying to rebuild the support of conservative voters, support that took a beating in Ensign's highly publicized love triangle in which he slept with a staffer, fired her, and then had his wealthy parents pay off both her and her husband, also a former staffer.

He also may be trying to re-assert himself legislatively after laying low after the scandal and resigning as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee.

Health Care

Senate Finance Committee Prepares to Vote on Health Care Compromises

Brian Beutler | September 22, 2009, 9:24AM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

The Senate Finance Committee today will begin considering amendments and compromises to a long-awaited, and controversial health care bill in a much anticipated hearing chaired by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT). The panel will vote on hundreds of changes to the legislation, with the goal of passing the package quickly on either a partisan basis, or with the support of one Republican: Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

Among the proposed changes include the addition of a public option, a "triggered" public option, enhanced subsidies for middle-class insurance consumers, and a modification to improve the troubled employer mandate provision.

Some committee Democrats have said they'd need to see significant changes to the bill before they can support it. We'll be keeping a close eye on the proceedings, so check back here for important updates.

Health Care

Reid: Massachusetts Senator May Help Us Avoid Controversial Health Care Strategy

Brian Beutler | September 22, 2009, 9:14AM

In a timely profile this morning by Roll Call's Emily Pierce, Senate Majority Leader explains in his own words something I reported last night.

Reid said he is hopeful the Massachusetts Legislature will soon vote to allow the governor to appoint a replacement for Kennedy so he will again be able to call on 60 Senators, but he said that has not stopped Democrats from pursuing one of the few Republicans seen as open to bipartisan compromise -- Snowe.

"They're working on a Senator up in Massachusetts," Reid said. "There are different ways we can get to 60 votes. It's not just dependent totally on her. I hope we can [get Snowe's vote]. She's a good legislator."

But he said he is doing everything he can to avoid using reconciliation to pass health care reform.

"I would rather do a bill that we can get 60 votes on, either on a bipartisan basis or a partisan basis," he said.

If and when Democrats have a 60 vote majority, that changes the calculus somewhat. And though Snowe will continue to be a focal point of negotiations, the ultimate onus for the passage of health care reform will ultimately be on Democrats.

Health Care

Dems to Revisit Party Unity Against Filibusters When Massachusetts Appoints 60th Senator

Brian Beutler | September 21, 2009, 6:48PM

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

If you're keeping score on the question of passing health care reforms as part of a filibuster-proof budget reconciliation bill, then you know that Democratic leaders in the Senate see it as an absolute last resort; and you know that if they go there, then they don't plan to test the limits of Senate rules along the way. The latter means that the reforms themselves would be subject to a number of arcane procedural tricks that could leave the legislation with some serious holes in it, and Democrats would either have to fill those holes separately, in a regular bill, or cross their fingers and hope things work out OK in the end anyhow. Meanwhile, liberal activists are pretty miffed that Democrats aren't at least threatening to use the process as aggressively as they can, and that's both widening the inter-party rift and leaving the party's legislative efforts without much support from the base.

That way lies the potential for a number of problems, both within the fractured Democratic coalition and for the substance of reform itself.

But if and when the governor of Massachusetts appoints a temporary replacement for Ted Kennedy, there will suddenly be a simpler and more elegant way around this impasse. That is, if only Democrats can stay united against a GOP health care filibuster.

Even if this meant passing a purely partisan bill, this would be the Democrats' preference. "We can get more done through a 60 vote bill than through reconciliation," says a Senate Democratic leadership aide.

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Health Care

Three Public Option Amendments to Baucus Bill Put Conservative Democrats on the Spot

Brian Beutler | September 21, 2009, 2:23PM

By my count, Democrats have offered three different amendments that, if approved, would result in the adoption of a public health insurance plan. The first, proposed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) calls for the creation of a fairly robust public option much like the plan originally drafted by the House of Representatives. It would pay providers Medicare rates plus a small bonus for those practitioners who already take Medicare patients.

That will be a telling vote, but more telling will be the votes on the other two public option proposals. The first, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would create a so-called "level playing field" public option, which wouldn't be permitted to set rates. The second, offered by Schumer and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), would create a very similar public option, this one imported from the Senate HELP committee's bill.

Rockefeller's plan would please reformers and liberals, and substantively makes more sense on a cost control level. But what makes the other two amendments more politically interesting is that they put conservative Democrats--particularly Sens. Max Baucus (D-MT), Kent Conrad (D-ND), and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)--on the spot. No longer will they be able to simply dismiss the public option by saying it doesn't have the votes to pass the Senate. And they won't be able to honestly oppose these plans on big government grounds.They'll actually have to go on the record one way or another. And a lot of eyes will be on them when they do.

Health Care

Why Democrats Don't Want to Pass a 51-Vote Health Care Bill--and Why That Has Liberals Fuming

Brian Beutler | September 21, 2009, 12:14PM

As I noted on Friday, there's a rift emerging on the left between some reform activists who want Democrats to pass health care legislation as part of the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation bill, and Democratic leaders, who see the reconciliation process as a tool last resort, and a dangerous one at that.

But as so often happens in inter-coalition disputes, the leaders of the two factions are talking past each other, and their arguments are getting lost in the cacophony. So what are those arguments?

There are many of them. But in the end the dispute boils down to a question of whether Democrats should be willing to test the limits of what's technically feasible under the law and Senate rules--whether they should go farther than even the Republicans went when they used reconciliation to pass the Bush tax cuts--or whether doing so would steer U.S. politics on to a course so fraught and unpredictable that the consequences could outstrip the substantive gains they'd make by passing a comprehensive health care bill.

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Health Care

Snowe Amendment Would Add "Triggered" Public Option to Baucus Bill

Brian Beutler | September 21, 2009, 10:06AM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

The Senate Finance Committee has released a comprehensive list of proposed amendments to chairman Max Baucus' health care reform draft. You can read it here. There's a ton of interesting stuff in there, including measures that would expand subsidies and create a robust public option. But there's also this one, from Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME):

This amendment establishes a non-profit government corporation through which a ―safety net‖ plan would be provided in any state in which affordable coverage was not available in the Exchange to at least 95% of state residents. An individual would be deemed to have affordable access if either of two conditions is met. First, two or more plans are offered with premiums - the cost of which does not exceed a specified percentage of the individual's adjusted gross income (AGI), after deducting any available tax credit or employer subsidy from the cost of such premium. The percentage contribution shall range from 3 percent of AGI at 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, to 13 percent at 300 percent and above.

This is the same triggered public option proposal she's been floating all along, and it's not one that will appease most progressives. Hearings on the legislation begin tomorrow, and the vote on this amendment will be one of the most widely noted. If it passes, then when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid merges the Finance Committee bill with the HELP Committee bill, he'll have to choose between the two. And that's when the fight over the public option will really heat up.

Health Care

Conservative Politician (In Canada) Praises Obama On Health Care, Says Americans Will Revere Him

Eric Kleefeld | September 18, 2009, 6:54PM

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney

Now here's something you don't see everyday: A conservative praising President Obama's efforts to establish universal health care, despite the political risks, denouncing the attacks against him -- and even declaring that 50 years from now, Americans will revere his name.

The catch is that in this case, the conservative in question is from another country: Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Mulroney spoke to a gathering of Conservative Party supporters, the Canadian Press reports, and spoke on the nature of political leadership:

"Political capital is acquired to spend in great causes for one's country," Mulroney said Thursday.

"Prime ministers are not chosen to seek popularity. They are chosen to provide leadership ... President Obama is fighting for a form of universal health care and is encountering ferocious resistance.

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Health Care

New Campaign Highlights Growing Rift Between Grassroots Liberals and the Democratic Party

Brian Beutler | September 18, 2009, 6:11PM

Fmr. DNC Chair Howard Dean

The lumbering fight over health care reform continues on Capitol Hill, and remains the focus of intense media coverage. But that focus belies a rift emerging on the left between grassroots and establishment Democrats over where the process should go next.

The schism is exemplified by the formation of a new Democracy for America campaign, called America Can't Wait, to pressure Democratic leaders to stop courting Senate centrists and pass health care reform through the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process. In a letter to DFA members, America Can't Wait founder Howard Dean wrote "At least 218 House and 51 Senate Democrats have said they would vote for the final healthcare bill if it included the choice of a public option rather than vote against the bill and kill reform."

"Senate rules don't allow filibusters of certain bills that affect the budget," Dean went on. "That's right; the healthcare reform plan including the choice of a public option can be passed in a budget bill by a majority vote in the U.S. Senate."

But Senate leaders on the Hill urge caution.

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Health Care

A Roadmap To The Health Care Fight Ahead

Brian Beutler | September 18, 2009, 1:34PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), President Barack Obama, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

All the news coverage these last few days has focused on the developments in the Senate Finance Committee. And for good reason! That's where all the news is. But that may obscure the fact that there's another health care bill that's been voted out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and a final package emerging in the House of Representatives, and each of these will help shape the bill President Obama hopes to sign.

Before August recess, each of the three House committees with jurisdiction over health care reform approved different versions of the same so-called "tri-committee bill". Over the break, the chairmen of those committees, working with leadership and the Democratic caucus, made progress on stitching those bills together into a package that will be voted on by the entire chamber. That work continues, and yesterday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will pass a bill "when we're ready," but that she's not waiting for the Senate to move ahead first.

Things haven't matured quite that much in the Senate. The Finance Committee will hold hearings on its bill next week, and the current thinking is that the legislation will likely pass with only Democrats (or Democrats plus Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine). When that's done, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid--working with Finance Chair Max Baucus, HELP Comittee leaders, and the White House--will take the lead merging the two bills into a final product that he thinks can overcome a filibuster, and then pass with at least 51 votes. This will mostly happen behind closed doors.

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Health Care

Rockefeller: I'm Very Optimistic About Getting a Health Care Bill Out of Committee

Brian Beutler | September 18, 2009, 12:32PM

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

As I noted earlier, Senate Finance Committee Democrats talked health care yesterday in what appears to have been a productive meeting. So productive, in fact, that Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)--who has said he can't support the bill--now says he's "very" optimistic that the panel will pass legislation.

"The meeting we had last night helps me say that," Rockefeller told the Washington Post's Ezra Klein.

Separately, Rockefeller said that Baucus has already begun making assurances to committee Democrats that their concerns will be addressed. "[I]t was the best meeting we've ever had with the chairman. He told me they'd make sure CHIP is preserved. He knows he needs our votes."

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Health Care

Burris Working to "Build Consensus" on Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 18, 2009, 10:57AM

Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL)

Earlier this week, Roland Burris (D-IL) became the first member of the Senate to definitively say he'll vote against health care reform legislation unless it includes a public option.

That's an important development, but, looking at the math in the Senate, it would be a really important development if Burris was saying he'd help filibuster the bill if it omitted a public option. So I asked for a bit of clarification from Burris' staff, and his spokesman Jim O'Connor said "the Senator was very serious in saying he will vote against any bill that doesn't include a public option."

But, he added, "[h]is goal is not to be an obstructionist, but as his statement said, to build consensus among his colleagues for a public option."

So it doesn't seem likely that he'd block a health care bill from coming to the floor for a vote over this issue. But he could still pave the way for other liberal senators to take a similarly strong stance. We'll keep an eye out for that.

Health Care

Snowe Wants Key Health Care Measure Strengthened Before She Supports Baucus Bill

Brian Beutler | September 18, 2009, 9:33AM

Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME)

It's long been known (reported at TPMDC and elsewhere) that, among the now defunct Gang of Six, two senators were advocates for giving poor and middle class taxpayers greater government assistance to buy health insurance: Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and, unexpectedly Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

But now Snowe says that, if she's to support the final package out of the finance committee, the subsidies in the bill will have to be strengthened. "[T]here would have to be more subsidies," she told the New York Times.

That's something liberals support to, though it would require more revenue, which likely means new taxes. And Snowe's been less forthcoming about how to pay for the subsidies than about her general support for them.

Still, reformers on the left probably won't be too excited by this. Despite advocating for greater government assistance, Snowe also opposes a public option unless it's affixed to a trigger mechanism, and supports the "free-rider" provision, which would make it profitable for employers to discriminate against poor people.

Health Care

Will Senate Finance Dems Undo Damage Done By Grassley, Enzi?

Brian Beutler | September 18, 2009, 9:11AM

After courting Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) for months--making concession after concession and coming up empty, and angering Democrats who were shut out of negotiations--Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus may be preparing to make amends by undoing some of the damage he made in the name of consensus.

A new report out from Roll Call suggests the new goal is a bill that can win each of the panel's Democrats plus, perhaps, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

"I think there's a view on the part of the chairman and on the part of just about everyone who was there to try and come up with a consensus that every Democrat, and perhaps Olympia Snowe, could support," after meeting with committee Democrats. "I would say, just about everyone in the room thought it's doable."

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) opposes the bill as it stands from the left, and has said that other Democrats on the panel were infuriated by the length and failure of the process. Snowe, meanwhile, hasn't said one way or another what she'll do. Democrats were initially skeptical that she'd sign on, but a number of signs yesterday suggest that she's leaning toward supporting the bill as it moves out of committee.

If Snowe opposes the bill, Baucus can afford to lose no more than one Democrat. So consensus--or near consensus--within the party will be critical for him.

Health Care

Howard Dean, DFA, Launch Campaign Encouraging 51-Vote Health Care Bill

Brian Beutler | September 17, 2009, 7:50PM

Fmr. DNC Chair Howard Dean

Howard Dean and Democracy for America have launched a new campaign called America Can't Wait, to bring grassroots pressure to bear on elected officials to pass health care reform with a public option through via the filibuster proof budget reconciliation process.

In a letter to supporters, obtained by TPM, America Can't Wait founder Howard Dean to supporters writes that pursuing the 51-vote should be the priority over the regular legislative order because it will be more likely to produce a public option.

"At least 218 House and 51 Senate Democrats have said they would vote for the final healthcare bill if it included the choice of a public option rather than vote against the bill and kill reform," Dean writes.

Some have said it takes 60 votes to pass any bill in the U.S. Senate. It's a myth.

It's a myth because while any Senator can attempt to block most Senate bills with a procedural tactic called the filibuster, there are exceptions. Senate rules don't allow filibusters of certain bills that affect the budget. That's right; the healthcare reform plan including the choice of a public option can be passed in a budget bill by a majority vote in the U.S. Senate.

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Health Care

Did the White House Give Joe Wilson Everything He Wanted? In a Word: Yes

Brian Beutler | September 17, 2009, 6:15PM

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) may have made a fool of himself when he screamed "You lie!" at President Obama during last week's epic health care speech. He certainly earned a slap on the wrist from the House of Representatives for it.

But, in the final analysis, did the White House basically reward his bad behavior?

The answer seems to be yes.

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Health Care

Snowe: Obama Flexible on the Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 17, 2009, 5:44PM

President Barack Obama and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Appearing on CNBC today, Senate Finance Committee member Olympia Snowe (R-ME) had some very flattering things to say about President Obama and his approach to health care--particularly with respect to his willingness to compromise on the public option and other issues.

"He's been very realistic in his views on health care," she said. "And he understands that there are fundamental differences and disparate views and how controversial they can be. The fact is, I've gotten the impression he would probably do less than more."

On the public option, she added "I've sensed from the outset that he might be far more flexible on that question."

Many months ago when I had an initial discussion with him on health care itself.

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Health Care

Snowe, Nelson, McCaskill, and Lieberman "Commend" Baucus for Health Care Bill

Brian Beutler | September 17, 2009, 3:23PM

It's not ironclad, but it's the first strong sign that Sen. Max Baucus' health care reform bill might win the support of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) when all's said and done.

She, along with Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) have released a joint statement 'commending' Baucus' efforts and saying, basically, if consensus is to be found, it will be here.

"We commend Chairman Baucus for his efforts to forge a health care reform proposal that has the potential to gain broad bipartisan support," the statement reads. "While we each have outstanding concerns we wish to see addressed, Senator Baucus has taken an important and critical step forward with this legislation, which is budget neutral and reduces future health care costs according to CBO."

This isn't the same thing as a wholesale endorsement of the bill, but it's a step in that direction from Snowe, who just yesterday was emphasizing her concerns. You can read the entire statement below the fold.

Late update: Chuck Todd reads a bit more into the statement than I do.

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Health Care

Baucuscare: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Brian Beutler | September 17, 2009, 12:52PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

Sen. Max Baucus' health care reform proposal doesn't have any friends on the right or left, and most of the support it does have comes from industry, and industry-backed House Blue Dogs. But though the skepticism of the Baucus plan is borne out of a number of flawed policy proposals, there are some genuinely good aspects to it, too. Herewith, the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of Baucuscare:

THE GOOD:

Fiscal responsibility: Yes, calls for "fiscal responsibility" seem to rear their ugly heads only when conservatives and conservative Democrats oppose the policy changes at stake. But liberal experts also agree: it's crucial that the costs of health care reform be covered, and that the reforms themselves address the problem of health care inflation. Baucus' bill succeeds on both scores. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities concludes "The proposed offsets in the Baucus plan are sound policies that would use resources in the health care system more efficiently.... [W]eakening or eliminating these offsets would not only result in a less efficient health care system but also make it more difficult to provide low- and moderate-income Americans with sufficient subsidies to afford health coverage." And the CBO finds that, via it's main financing mechanism and other measures, Baucus care would be a deficit reducer over both 10 and 20 year windows.

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DCCC

Pelosi Fundraising Letter: 2010 Is Toughest Ever Midterm Cycle For Dems

Eric Kleefeld | September 17, 2009, 12:28PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

In a new fundraising e-mail from the DCCC, Speaker Nancy Pelosi sought to mobilize supporters by giving them a serious warning: That 2010 is the toughest midterm election for Democrats ever.

"The Republican defenders of the status quo are shouting because they understand that this is the toughest Midterm Election that Democrats have ever faced," Pelosi writes. "They also understand that this is a critical month for health insurance reform and they are trying to deal a serious blow to President Obama's agenda for moving America forward."

Of course, most people would say the toughest midterm cycle for Democrats in modern memory was 1994, when the Dems lost eight Senate seats and 54 House seats -- and which also followed a failed attempt to guarantee universal health care.

Check out the full e-mail after the jump.

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Health Care

Republicans Turn up the Heat on Snowe

Brian Beutler | September 17, 2009, 9:27AM

This piece from Politico offers some useful insight into the extent to which Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) is under just as much political pressure to oppose health care reform as she is to support it.

Conservative members of her caucus aren't being particularly shy about where they stand.
"It would be terrible if one Republican chose to basically sell out the whole Conference," said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), "particularly in return for some naive idea that we can get some compromise here and that it's going to hold up in [a House-Senate] conference."

"If Republicans are unanimous or maybe unanimous but one -- that puts a real spotlight on anybody who does differ from all of their colleagues," said Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ)

And that's just what they're saying publicly.

Health Care

Health Care Compromise Has Fewer Supporters than More Progressive Bills

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 6:57PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

On the left, the Senate Finance Committee health care reform bill has been ripped apart by (deep breath): Health Care for America Now, AFL-CIO, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Sen. Roland Burris, Rep. Raul Grijalva, Rep. Anthony Weiner, and, I'm sure, others.

It earned an icy reception from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and a lukewarm (though overall positive) response from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, it's still getting no love on the right. Even from moderate Republicans. Blue Dogs like it, though!

Late update: Despite calling the Baucus plan the "best effort to date," even the Chamber of Commerce has "grave concerns" and says "the bill still needs tremendous improvement." You can read the full statement below the fold.

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Health Care

CBO Says Baucus Bill a Big Money Saver

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 6:09PM

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

Following on Sen. Kent Conrad's request, the Congressional Budget Office has analyzed the Finance Committee's draft bill--not just for a 10 year window, but for a 20 year window--and concluded that it would be a big money saver. From 2010 through 2019, the legislation, if enacted as is, would reduce the federal deficit by $49 billion. And, in a rough projection, CBO found that the bill would continue to provide savings relative to current law, for the 10 years thereafter. Though there's a tremendous amount of uncertainty, from 2020 through 2029 the legislation would save on the order of .5 percent of GDP

As I noted yesterday, Conrad requested an extended outlook, likely with the intent of giving this bill a political boost. Conrad and the "Gang of Six" worked closely with CBO chief Doug Elmendorf while crafting the bill, and almost certainly knew that it would score favorably, particularly in comparison to the Senate HELP bill and House legislation, which do less to control the rate of health care inflation.

Health Care

Burris Becomes First Senator to Insist on a Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 5:55PM

Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL)

In response to the release of Sen. Max Baucus' health care reform bill, Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) became the first Senator today to say he will vote against any health care bill that does not include a public option.

"I firmly believe in a public option and will oppose any bill that does not include one," Burris said. "Illinoisans have seen their insurance premiums skyrocket, while more and more families lose their coverage every day."

You can read the entire statement below the fold. Obviously, there's a huge difference between opposing health care reform without a public option, and voting no on cloture (i.e. supporting a filibuster) on a bill without a public option. In fact, with the Senate numbers being what they are, the difference is crucial, and if Burris is suggesting the latter, it could have a tremendous impact on health care negotiations going forward. I've put in calls to his staff for clarity on that point, and will report back when I learn more.

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Health Care

Rockefeller to Baucus, Conrad: Co-ops Are a Sham, Public Option Is a Must

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 3:31PM

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

When it became clear several weeks ago that negotiators on the Senate Finance Committee were planning to pursue a private co-op model instead of a public option in their health reform bill, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)--a senior member of that committee, and chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee--undertook a study into the history and effectiveness of health insurance co-operatives.

As part of that study, he asked the Government Accountability Office to bring together all of the research it had done over the years into the effectiveness of co-ops in the insurance market. Today, he sent a fairly scathing letter to Finance chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and chief co-op advocate Kent Conrad (D-ND) regarding the results.

Rockefeller, who says he regards the public option as a "must," writes, "there has been no significant research into consumer co-ops as a model for the broad expansion of health insurance. What we do know, however, is that this model was tried in the early part of the 20th century and largely failed."

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Health Care

Snowe: Baucus Bill "Moves in the Right Direction"

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 2:26PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) says that the Finance Committee's health care draft represents a step "in the right direction," but warns that "a number of issues still need to be addressed -- including cost assumptions and ultimate affordability to both consumers and the government as well as ensuring appropriate competition in the health insurance exchange."

What she ultimately decides to do will likely depend on how the bill changes during hearings next week. But for now, Democrats aren't particularly optimistic. You can read her entire statement below the fold.

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Health Care

Dem Aide: Snowe Highly Unlikely to Support Finance Bill

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 1:48PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

After months of bipartisan negotiations, and significant concessions intended to win Republican support, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) has unveiled a draft of his health care reform bill, and, for now, no Republicans on the Senate Fiance Committee are endorsing it, even tentatively. Not even Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME). And one Senate Democratic aide says it's highly unlikely that she'll support the bill at the finance committee stage.

But that won't deter Democrats from wooing her anyhow.

One of Snowe's main concerns is that the financing scheme Baucus proposed, which involves taxes on high end insurance plans, could disproportionately harm Maine consumers, who pay some of the highest health insurance rates in the country.

Calls to Snowe's office asking if she plans to offer amendments to alleviate that and other concerns--and whether the adoption of such amendments would win her support--have thus far gone unanswered.

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Health Care

Citing Lack of Public Option, Pelosi Offers Light Criticism of Baucus Bill

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 1:14PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she hopes the Senate Finance Committee health care bill improves over time. But she's also glad that it's finally been unveiled.

"The fifth and final Congressional committee is now putting forward a product that will move this historic debate forward," Pelosi said.

But, she added, "The House bill clearly does more to make coverage affordable for more Americans and provides more competition to drive insurance companies to charge lower premiums and improve coverage."

"[W]e hope to see modifications that result in the Senate bill better reflecting the work of the House to make health care more affordable for all Americans and promote competition that is key to keeping costs lower. I believe the public option is the best way to achieve that goal," Pelosi said.

You can read the entire statement below the fold. Note that earlier this month, Pelosi said a bill without a public option--like Baucus' bill, for instance--could not pass the House. But she seems recently to have backed away from such an absolute position.

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Health Care

Key Reform Group Calls Baucus Bill a "Failure"

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 12:56PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

Last week, when Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) circulated an outline of the bill he released today, the reform campaign Health Care for America Now pointed me to letters they'd written to leading Democrats urging Baucus to include a public option in his legislation. Ultimately, he didn't.

Now, HCAN says the Baucus bill is a "failure."

"The Baucus bill is a gift to the insurance industry that fails to meet the most basic promise of health care reform: a guarantee that Americans will have good health care that they can afford," says HCAN's campaign director Richard Kirsch.

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Health Care

Reid: Finance Committee Draft Represents "Critical Momentum"

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 10:46AM

An aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says, "Although we don't agree with everything in this bill, Finance Committee's mark represents critical momentum in this process."

In particular, leadership approves of the bill's efficiency and cost-cutting measures including changes to Medicare, and promotion of preventative care.

The goal for leadership at this point is to get a bill out of committee, ideally with Olympia Snowe's vote, but, alternatively, with Democrats only. What remains unclear is the extent (if any) to which the bill would become more liberal if zero Republicans ultimately vote for it. Already, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has said he can not support the bill as it is, and, if no Republicans vote for it, Rockefeller's the only vote Max Baucus can afford to lose on the left and still pass a bill.

Health Care

Baucus Unveils Health Care Bill, Tracks Closely With Obama's Principles

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 9:43AM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus has unveiled a draft of his health care reform bill, which, as expected, calls for co-ops but no public option. So far, after months of bipartisan negotiations, no Republicans have agreed to support the framework--but that could change during hearings next week as the bill gets amended. More to come as we sift through it.

Health Care

OFA Adopts Obama's Non-Committal Language on Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 9:16AM

President Obama

A good catch from The New Argument. The Democratic party's organizing arm, OFA, seems to have changed the language on it's website, which used to be as firm as possible on the public option. The site used to say that health care reform "must... [g]uarantee choice - Every American must have the freedom to choose their plan and doctor - including the choice of a public insurance option."

Now, it's backed away from that insistence. The new language on the site urges members of Congress to support President Obama's health care reform principles, which include a public option--but doesn't characterize it as a make or break issue.

Read more »

Health Care

Conrad Demands Health Care Proposal Meet Stricter Budget Demands

Brian Beutler | September 15, 2009, 6:28PM

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

In what is likely an effort to bolster the health care bill he helped design, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)--chair of the Budget Committee, and member of the "gang of six"--has seen to it that health care proposals in the House and Senate be analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office over a 20 year window, instead of the usual 10.

CBO chief Doug Elmendorf worked closely with the Finance Committee during the drafting of the proposal, and seems likely to project greater long-term cost savings from it than from the others. And if that happens, his findings are sure to be used as a political weapon by both Republicans and spending-conscious Democrats.

Meanwhile, the Institute of Medicine--an organization that's part of the National Academies--is about to release a new study which confirms the view that the CBO's projections are stingy and that current reform proposals will likely yield hundreds of billions of dollars in savings that the CBO didn't account for.

Health Care

Rockefeller: I Can Not Support Baucuscare As Is

Brian Beutler | September 15, 2009, 3:50PM

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is perhaps the most liberal member of the Senate Finance Committee when it comes to health care reform, and today, he went on the record in opposition to the proposal offered by chairman Max Baucus.

"There is no way in present form I will vote for it," Rockefeller told reporters on a conference call. "Therefore, I will not vote for it unless it changes during the amendment process by vast amounts."

Rockefeller has a number of objections to the proposal including, but not limited, to the fact that it lacks a public option.

The math on the Senate Finance Committee (13 Democrats, 10 Republicans) is such that Rockefeller could vote no from the left, and all Republicans--including Olympia Snowe--could vote no from the right, and the bill could still pass. So this may not be an idle threat. However, numerous aides have told me that moving the process forward is the top priority for Democratic leaders at this point, and that it's extremely unlikely that Democratic opposition will stall the bill on the committee, so any Democratic opposition would likely be limited to Rockefeller. Nonetheless, this is an interesting dynamic to keep an eye on.

Health Care

McConnell Contradicts Baucus: Finance Bill Is Not One "Very Many Republicans Will Support"

Brian Beutler | September 15, 2009, 3:19PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Who're you gonna believe, Mitch McConnell, or Max Baucus?

Today, the Senate Minority Leader and the Senate Finance Committee chair offered mutually exclusive prognoses on the fate of health care reform.

Baucus says there's a "very good chance" that a significant number of Republicans will ultimately support the compromise legislation he's spent months writing, and which he finally plans to unveil either late tonight or tomorrow morning.

But, based on what he's read of the plan so far, the Republican Senate leader is doubtful.

Read more »

Health Care

Reid: If We Can't Get 60 Votes, We'll Have 'No Alternative' But to Use Reconciliation

Brian Beutler | September 15, 2009, 3:02PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters today in unequivocal terms that Democrats will use the so-called budget reconciliationp rocess to pass health care reform without Republicans if they can't get 60 votes.

"If we can't get the 60 votes we need, then we'll have no alternative," Reid said.

Reid was careful to insist that such a move would not be his preference and remains a last resort--but, he says, the process must keep moving forward.

Still, Reid remains confident that the 51-vote maneuver won't be necessary. "I'm certainly not over-confident, but I think there's a very good chance that we can get 60 votes," he noted.

While 60 votes may be possible, it may also be a ceiling of sorts. Today, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said of the plan emerging from the Senate Finance Committee, "I don't think that's a package that very many Republicans will support."

And over the weekend, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)--the second most moderate member of the Republican caucus, said that despite the preferences of her colleague Olympia Snowe, she would not support a health care bill that includes a triggered public option.

Health Care

Lieberman Opposes Public Option Despite Strong Support in Connecticut

Brian Beutler | September 15, 2009, 2:14PM

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

Seems like only yesterday, Democratic leaders were telling supporters they supported Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) because "he's with us on everything but the war in Iraq."

That maxim doesn't actually extend to health care, though. Lieberman has come out against a number of aspects of the Democrats' health care reform proposal, including the public option...despite strong support for the measure in Connecticut.

A new Research 2000 poll commissioned by Daily Kos finds that 68 percent of likely voters in Connecticut support a public option, while only 21 percent oppose.

Read more »

Health Care

Dems See Political Upside to Republican Obstruction on Health Care

Brian Beutler | September 15, 2009, 12:36PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Though Democrats are prepping a procedural contingency to advance health care reform legislation without any Republican votes, there remains an overwhelming desire among party leaders to pass a bill with 60 votes (most likely 59 Democrats and Olympia Snowe)--but that's not just because Democrats are squeamish about going it alone, and concerned about the technical complications. Some think there may be an upside to exhausting all options.

"We've come this far, so we're going to try this to the bitter end," says one Senate Democratic aide.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) will soon unveil a draft of the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill and, with the budget reconciliation bill set to move forward in mid-October, there's a premium on getting Baucus' plan out of committee swiftly.

Already, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has threatened to cancel a week-long October recess if Republicans slow things down in committee and on the Senate floor.

"We won't miss the window," the aide said. "Everyone's cognizant of it."

Read more »

Health Care

Dems, Republicans Begin Tussle Over Baucus Bill

Brian Beutler | September 15, 2009, 9:28AM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

The Senate Finance Committee will soon begin debating a health care bill that will likely be unveiled this week, and already, a tug of war is emerging between committee Democrats who want to bolster a number of measures and Republican negotiators who want to see the bill get smaller.

Democrats are largely concerned that the plan won't offer uninsured Americans the sufficiently generous subsidies they'll need in order to afford the health insurance they'll be required to buy.

Addressing that issue, though, seems mutually exclusive from meeting the goals of ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), both of whom want the price of the bill to be significantly lower than it is, and also object to a plan to pay for it by imposing fees on insurance companies.

Read more »

Health Care

Strong Majority of Arkansans Support Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 14, 2009, 2:52PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

A new Research 2000 poll commissioned by Daily Kos has some interesting news for both Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and supporters of the public option.

Though Lincoln's favorable/unfavorable split is an unenviable 43 to 49, her potential opponents are still relatively unknown, and she maintains a considerable lead over all of them.

More interesting still is that respondents--600 likely voters--strongly favor "creating a government-administered health insurance option that anyone can purchase to compete with private insurance plans." The split on that score is 55 to 38. And remember, this is Arkansas, where Rush Limbaugh has a stronger approval rating than Barack Obama. Makes you think Lincoln could afford to be a bit more bullish on the public option than she has been of late.

Health Care

Does Pelosi's Softening Rhetoric Spell Doom for the Public Option?

Brian Beutler | September 14, 2009, 1:24PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

If there's a sign that one faction is winning the tug-of-war between House progressives and conservative Senate Democrats over the public option, it may be coming from the Speaker's office.

Last Tuesday, when Nancy Pelosi emerged from the White House after a meeting with President Obama, she said that the fate of the public option would be determined in the legislative process, and she suggested that if Congress goes for a "trigger," it would be affixed to a Medicare-like public option.

On Thursday, she said "This is about a goal. It's not about provisions. As long as our goal of affordability and accessibility and quality, meeting the four...goals that we have in the legislation, then we will go forward with that bill."

But not two weeks ago, Pelosi insisted that a health care bill without a strong public option would not pass the House. That statement was of a piece with similar statements she'd made for weeks, which were based on the progressives' insistence that health care reform's passage depended on the public option.

In other words, since meeting with Obama--who's been notably solicitous of Senate moderates, and notably dismissive of House progressives--her public language has softened notably.

Read more »

Health Care

Harkin: Mark My Word, Health Care Reform Will Have a Strong Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 14, 2009, 11:37AM

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)

In taking up Ted Kennedy's mantle as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) is leaving no doubt that he plans to fight hard for a politically contentious feature of his panel's health care reform bill.

"That bill -- mark my word, I'm the chairman -- is going to have a strong public option," Harkin told constituents at his annual Steak Fry in Iowa.

He made it clear, too, that he views a strong fight for the public option as part of his role in carrying on Kennedy's legacy. "We lost a great progressive, a great leader on so many issues," Harkin said. "It now falls to me to pick up the torch."

Harkin's ability to impact the fight over public option will be determined in no small part by whether he's selected as a negotiator if and when House and Senate health care legislation are merged in a conference committee. Though he now chairs the HELP committee, the panel's health care process was overseen by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) who acted as chairman until shortly after Kennedy's death.

Health Care

Grijalva: It Would Be A Mistake for the White House to Cut a Deal Without Us.

Brian Beutler | September 11, 2009, 5:17PM

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

Long before President Obama met yesterday with a coterie of conservative Senate Democrats to discuss health care reform, he had invited key Congressional liberals to the White House, ahead of his health care speech before Congress, to brief them and hear them out on the public option.

Except that meeting never happened. According to a House Democratic source, the White House never called back.

Today, I asked Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) whether he thought that sequence of events was reflective of the White House's priorities. He mostly played it down.

Read more »

Health Care

House Progressive Whacks Conrad and Baucus for Appeasing Heckler

Brian Beutler | September 11, 2009, 4:51PM

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

As we've been reporting, Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Max Baucus (D-MT) responded to Rep. Joe "You Lie" Wilson (R-SC) with incredulity by implicitly affirming his false accusation that Democratic health care legislation will be a boon to illegal immigrants.

That move hasn't gone unnoticed, and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)--a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus--has some pretty harsh words for the two.

"The senators are knee-jerking and over-reacting," Grijalva told me today, denouncing the move.

Grijalva has emerged in recent weeks as one of the House progressives most committed to insisting health care reform legislation include a public option.

Read more »

Health Care

Immigrant Rights Group: Baucus and Conrad 'Caved', Made Health Care Bill More Expensive

Brian Beutler | September 11, 2009, 1:11PM

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

I just got off the phone with Frank Sharry, Executive Director of the immigrant rights group America's Voice, who's not exactly pleased that Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Max Baucus (D-MT) are responding to the Joe Wilson scream incident by writing immigrant restrictions into health care legislation.

"Baucus and Conrad are caving on a fake issue that is trumped up by Republicans not to better the bill but to trump up opposition to reform," Sharry declared. "I just find it stunning that they would validate what Joe Wilson did."

Sharry also points out that the changes to the bill are likely to be extremely inefficient.
Under Medicaid, he says, "there is currently a verification system in place called the SAVE program, which works pretty well."

But under President George W. Bush, Congress passed the Deficit Reduction Act, which implemented a checkpoint system resembling the plan Baucus and Conrad have adopted. In 2007, a Government Accountability Office report (PDF) found that "the DRA documentation requirements have led to widespread declines in Medicaid enrollment and increased administrative costs [and] have cost significantly more to implement than they have saved in expenditures by excluding undocumented immigrants from Medicaid coverage. For every $100 spent by federal taxpayers to implement the new requirements in six states, only 14 cents in Medicaid savings can be documented."

So not only is this particular method of avoiding systemic abuse by low-wage, undocumented residents ineffective and politically dubious. It's also extremely wasteful. Thankfully, though, Congressmen like Joe Wilson will no longer be tempted to scream "you lie!" at President Obama. Or maybe it won't even accomplish that.

Health Care

Polls Show Health Care Speech Improved Obama's Ratings On Health Care

Eric Kleefeld | September 11, 2009, 12:05PM

President Barack Obama

The polls that have been conducted since President Obama's speech to Congress on Wednesday night collectively suggest that Obama improved his position on the issue of health care.

• Democracy Corps (D) conducted a dial-tested focus group of debate-watchers in Denver, Colorado, made up of swing voters who were almost evenly divided 54%-46% between Obama and John McCain in the 2008 election. Among this group, support and opposition of the health care plan went from 46%-46% before the speech, to 66%-30% afterward. In addition, before the speech only 44% described the plan as "the right kind of change," with 52% saying it was not. That number then shifted to 50%-40% after the speech.

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Health Care

Conrad Clarifies: No Federal Subsidies for Non-Citizens Under Health Care Bill

Brian Beutler | September 11, 2009, 11:31AM

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) told reporters today that while non-citizens won't be barred, under Senate Finance Committee legislation from entering health insurance exchanges, the exchanges themselves will require all consumers to show proof of citizenship, in order to insure that undocumented residents don't receive any federal subsidies.

"You can't prevent someone from being able to purchase insurance," Conrad said. "They would not get any government assistance.... What we're trying to prevent is anybody who is here illegally from getting any federal benefit."

Read more »

Health Care

Baucus, Conrad Respond to "You Lie" Flap By Restricting Non-Citizens from Insurance Market

Brian Beutler | September 11, 2009, 11:13AM

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)

Republican Rep. Joe Wilson's shout heard round the world has turned into a political food fight and a minor scandal for the GOP. By blurting "you lie" during the President's address, Wilson was insinuating--wrongly--that Democratic health care legislation would provide federal subsidies to undocumented immigrants to buy health insurance. But though Wilson's allegation was false, and the political impact has been largely negative, Democratic leaders on the Senate Finance Committee seem to think it's worth fixing the non-existent problem Wilson was complaining about.

"We really thought we'd resolved this question of people who are here illegally, but as we reflected on the President's speech last night we wanted to go back and drill down again," said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), according to Time. The incident reportedly has led Finance chairman Max Baucus to insert a provision in his legislation to require participants in the health insurance exchanges to provide proof of citizenship.

Read more »

Health Care

Experts: Baucuscare Would Leave Poor Out of Work

Brian Beutler | September 11, 2009, 9:57AM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

While the liberal policy community in Washington mostly acknowledges that the health care plan put forward by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) falls short of its counterparts in the House and Senate, they also believe it would be an improvement over the status quo. But at least one of the measures, reportedly supported by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), is so poorly designed that it has some critics downright worried.

"The Baucus plan is going to create all kinds of incentives to avoid hiring low income people," says Edwin Park of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Shortly after Baucus unveiled his proposal, CBPP--a respected policy shop that tilts liberal--released a report warning about this very possibility.

"It's the one [measure] that we've been worried about in the Finance Committee discusions or months now," Park warned.

Read more »

Health Care

Poll: Obama's Speech Boosts Approval On Health Care

Eric Kleefeld | September 11, 2009, 9:39AM

President Barack Obama

A new CBS poll finds that President Obama's speech to Congress has had an immediate, positive effect for him on health care.

CBS re-interviewed yesterday the same respondents from a poll in late August. In that previous poll, Obama's approval on his handling of health care was only 40%, with 47% disapproval. Now, he's at 52%-38% with those same people.

The surveys also asked whether Obama has clearly explained his plans for health care reform. Two weeks ago, he was at only 33% yes, 61% now. Now that number is much improved, but still less than spectacular: Yes 42%, No 43%. Among speech-watchers, the number is Yes 58%, No 39%

Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty: It's "A Viable Option" To Invoke State Sovereignty, Keep Minnesota Out of Health Care Reform

Eric Kleefeld | September 11, 2009, 8:52AM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), a possible presidential candidate in 2012, is now indicating that he could invoke state sovereignty and prevent his home state of Minnesota from participating in a federal health care reform effort if one passes, Minnesota Public Radio reports.

"Depending on what the federal government comes out with here, asserting the 10th Amendment may be a viable option," Pawlenty said, when asked about it by a caller on a Republican Governors Association conference call. "But we don't know the details. As one of the other callers said, we can't get the President to outline what he does or doesn't support in any detail. So we'll have to see, I would have to say that it's a possibility."

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Barack Obama

Is George Voinovich Getting Ready to Play Ball on Health Care?

Brian Beutler | September 10, 2009, 5:24PM

Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH)

Over the last several weeks, a number of Democratic sources have suggested that Senate leaders might be able to convince the retiring Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) to support a health care reform package--or at least to agree not to support a filibuster of it.

We now have a couple of telling data points, suggesting there may be something to that hunch. In advance of President Obama's speech last night, Voinovich released a long, and mostly dour statement about the status of the health care fight.

Read more »

Barack Obama

Wyden: Obama Gave the Cause of Health Care Reform a "Big Boost Last Night"

Brian Beutler | September 10, 2009, 4:34PM

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) tells me he thinks President Obama gave the cause of health reform "a big boost last night, but though he supports Obama's proposal, he does have a few concerns.

"I think it was very powerful and even more importantly very persuasive," Wyden told me. "Health care is such a complicated issue, and intensely personal and the way the President outlined it, it really served as a trampoline--a jump--to the next part of the debate which is on the Senate Finance Committee on which I serve."

On the specifics of the President's plan, Wyden laid out a small handful of issues he'd like to see improved. Specifically, and foremost, Wyden says, "the area that i would like to be bolder in is in this area of creating a market through choice and competition."

Read more »

Michael Steele

Steele: "Bad Form" For Obama To Invoke Kennedy At Last Night's Speech

Eric Kleefeld | September 10, 2009, 4:31PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

RNC Chairman Michael Steele told the Washington Times that it was "bad form" for President Obama to talk about a letter he received from the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), at last night's speech to Congress.

"I'm sorry, but I just felt a bit unnerved by it, in the sense he just passed," said Steele.

"His wife was still clearly emotional," Steele added. "I just thought that was bad form. We all understand and appreciate the role Sen. Kennedy has played in this debate and the passion he brought to health care. I just thought that was a little bit much for me, so soon after his death, using that as a political tool."

Steele seems to be under the impression that this was all a surprise to Vicki Kennedy -- that it was some kind of coincidence that she'd been invited to sit as a guest of Michelle Obama during a speech on one of her late husband's biggest political issues.

(Via Political Wire)

Charles Boustany

Boustany: We Agree with 80 Percent of Obama's Plan, which Should Be Scrapped

Brian Beutler | September 10, 2009, 3:06PM

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA)

Maybe President Obama's health care speech yesterday did have an impact on Republicans. For instance, earlier this afternoon, Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) told MSNBC "of course there's common ground. There is plenty of common ground."

"In fact," he said, "I would venture to say that we agree on about 80% of the issues right now. It's just a matter of hashing out those few areas where we disagree, but there's really not been that kind of real discussion, and it needs to happen."

That's downright Obama-esque language right there.

Read more »

Health Care

UPDATED Reid: Co-ops Could Replace Public Option if Structured Right

Brian Beutler | September 10, 2009, 2:36PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid often says that he supports a public option "or something like a public option." But he spoke about that a bit more specifically today:

"The purpose of a public option is to create competition, which is so important, and to create quality healthcare," Reid told reporters today.

"If we can come up with a concept of a cooperative that does just that, that is it makes more competition and makes insurance companies honest, yes, I think that would fit the bill," Reid said.

A couple things jump out about this. First, this is a bit more specific than we're used to with Reid. He's very clear here that, at least in theory, a co-op could meet all of his and the President's requirements with respect to creating competition and honesty in the insurance market.

More importantly, though, this comes a day after Obama's speech where he specifically warned liberals that he doesn't see a government-run public option as an end in and of itself. It's a tool. Reid is using very similar language to say a co-op model might serve that function as well. And since the just-released Senate Finance Committee draft provides for the creation of a co-op system, it seems pretty clear that Reid's taking the idea seriously.

Late update: A Reid spokesperson tells me "Reid did not endorse the co-op plan at today's press conference. He reiterated again today that he supports a public option but is open to interpretations of such a plan. The goals for him are lowering cost and keeping the insurance industry in check." And indeed, it does seem that other reports have overstated Reid's remarks.

Health Care

Hatch: I Sincerely Doubt Snowe or Collins Will Support Health Care Reform

Brian Beutler | September 10, 2009, 2:12PM

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

What did conservative Republicans think of President Obama's health care speech last night? Not very much, apparently. Sen Orrin Hatch (R-UT)--who, you'll recall was a part of the "gang of six" back when it was the "gang of seven"--even went so far as to predict that the proposal Obama outlined would get zero Republican votes. No Collins. No Snowe.

"I really sincerely doubt if Olympia or Susan will go with them. I really sincerely doubt that Chuck Grassley and Senator Enzi will go with them," Hatch said.

The one thing the President said where people can get insurance across state lines, anywhere in the country, lowest possible prices they can, that's a good idea but that's an idea that Republicans came up with long ago. That takes some conservative Democrats came up with that as well. When he talked about medical liability reform, he is talking about, you know, small projects. We don't need small projects.

We'll have video for you shortly. And, we'll try to get an answer from Sens. Snowe and Collins on what they think of Hatch's powers of prognostication.

Late update: Video Below.

Barack Obama

Report: 17 Senate Dem. Caucus Members Called to White House to Discuss Health Care

Brian Beutler | September 10, 2009, 12:29PM

President Barack Obama

ABC News is reporting that President Obama has summoned 17 members of the Senate Democratic caucus--most of whom have expressed some degree of skepticism over President Obama's health care plan--to the White House for a meeting late this afternoon.

The members are: Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Evan Bayh (D-IN), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Tom Carper (D-DE), Arlen Specter (D-PA), Mark Begich (D-AK), Mark Udall (D-CO), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Joe Lieberman (I-CT).

We'll be on the lookout for developments.

Ben Nelson

Nelson: Speech Was 'Game Changer'; Snowe? Not So Much

Brian Beutler | September 10, 2009, 8:48AM

We already know that House progressive leaders are giving President Obama's health care speech positive, if not overwhelming reviews. But they're engaged in a bit of legislative tug-of-war with Senate centrists, particularly over the public option. So how did conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans react?

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), who's come out in support of the idea of triggering the public option, said "I think it was a bit of a game changer."

That's about as positive a review as you can get. But right now all eyes are on Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and her response was a bit less enthusiastic.

Read more »

Barack Obama

Wilson Apologizes for Calling Obama Liar During Speech

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 10:26PM

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) has apologized for breaking with protocol and calling the President a liar during his speech before Congess this evening.

"This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President's remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill," Wilson said. "While I disagree with the President's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility."

Here's the video, for posterity:

I guess that's 90 percent of an apology, but politically, it may be too late to undo the impression that the GOP is handling the health care fight uncivilly.

Late update: Wilson apparently called the White House to apologize to Obama directly. Instead he ended up speaking to Rahm Emanuel. Oh, to have been listening in on that f@(&ing conversation.

Health Care

Dingell: Obama Made the Public Option More Viable with This Speech

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 10:17PM

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) and fmr. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA)

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) is a single-payer supporter, and no parser of words, but he tells me he thinks President Obama did a superb job tonight, and increased the chances that a public option will survive the legislative process.

"It was quite an experience for me because first it was one of the best speeches I've ever heard, and second of all he mentioned my dad which brings no shortage of happiness to me," Dingell said.

Dingell's father was a single-payer advocate in the House as well, and, in his father's memory, Dingell introduces a single-payer bill at the beginning of every Congress.

"I think a). he was clear enough and b). he was strong enough because he made it plain that the public option was the way to create an absolutely necessary thing for the bill to succeed--and that is competition."

Does that mean the public option is more viable now than it was this morning?

"The answer to the question is yes," Dingell told me. He said the it's real strength is that it was a clear explication of the plan "to the American people," and said the plan Obama outlined will be hard to oppose "if honestly listened to and honestly viewed by the listener."

Barack Obama

Brown: Obama Implicitly Demanded a Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 9:54PM

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

On a conference call with reporters just now, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said that Obama's decision to adopt Sen. Max Baucus' $900 billion financing scheme was a "major concession," but gave Obama high marks for his statement on the public option.

"He wants to always be open to ideas...but he sets his standard. And the standard is it's gotta offer better choice... it's got to discipline insurance companies... and it's got to bring prices down," Brown said in response to a question from TPMDC. "The other options don't even come close to doing it."

Brown's statement amounts to a belief that Obama has implied a demand for a public option. Obama has insisted that the plan he signs must increase competition and bring prices down. But though he's said he's open to triggers and co-ops, Brown says those options fall short enough that they likely won't meet the President mark. "I think he laid it out in a way that only a public option will get us where we want to go."

I asked Brown whether he would be supportive if Obama ultimately came to the conclusion that one or both of the alternatives--a co-op or a trigger plan--do meet his criteria. Brown said he'd have to wait and see, but said he'd only be supportive if he were convinced that the policies on offer would meet those goals.

Health Care

Grijalva: We're Glad Obama Didn't Throw the Public Option Under the Bus

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 9:37PM

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

I just got off the phone with Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)--co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. His takeaway from the speech was pretty simple: Though the President didn't go all the way on the public option, the fact that he addressed and endorsed it means the fight for the public option will live another day.

"It was very encouraging," Grijalva said. "Obviously our policy point is the public plan and I thought the President dealt with it. He didn't get into a lot of specificity of what he does support and doesn't support."

In an official statement, which I've pasted below, Grijalva said "the President needs to be more direct on what the public option means and what it will do for the American people."

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Barack Obama

Kennedy Letter to Obama: At Stake Is the Character of Our Country

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 9:11PM

At the end of President Obama's speech tonight, he read from a letter Ted Kennedy wrote to him in May, but which was only delivered upon his death.

"For me, this cause stretched across decades," Kennedy wrote. "[I]t has been disappointed, but never finally defeated. It was the cause of my life. And in the past year, the prospect of victory sustained me-and the work of achieving it summoned my energy and determination."

There will be struggles - there always have been - and they are already underway again. But as we moved forward in these months, I learned that you will not yield to calls to retreat - that you will stay with the cause until it is won. I saw your conviction that the time is now and witnessed your unwavering commitment and understanding that health care is a decisive issue for our future prosperity. But you have also reminded all of us that it concerns more than material things; that what we face is above all a moral issue; that at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country.

And so because of your vision and resolve, I came to believe that soon, very soon, affordable health coverage will be available to all, in an America where the state of a family's health will never again depend on the amount of a family's wealth. And while I will not see the victory, I was able to look forward and know that we will - yes, we will - fulfill the promise of health care in America as a right and not a privilege.

I've obtained a copy, which you can read below the fold.

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Barack Obama

Obama: I Will Not Back Down from Public Option...Or Something Like It

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 8:03PM

As expected, President Obama's speech contains a clear defense of the public option--noting for the first time that the public option has popular with voters. But it also leaves him plenty of wiggle room to accept compromises.

"[A]n additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange," Obama will say. "Let me be clear - it would only be an option for those who don't have insurance. No one would be forced to choose it, and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance. In fact, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, we believe that less than 5% of Americans would sign up."

It's worth noting that a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option of the sort I've proposed tonight. But its impact shouldn't be exaggerated - by the left, the right, or the media. It is only one part of my plan, and should not be used as a handy excuse for the usual Washington ideological battles. To my progressive friends, I would remind you that for decades, the driving idea behind reform has been to end insurance company abuses and make coverage affordable for those without it. The public option is only a means to that end - and we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal. And to my Republican friends, I say that rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have.

For example, some have suggested that that the public option go into effect only in those markets where insurance companies are not providing affordable policies. Others propose a co-op or another non-profit entity to administer the plan. These are all constructive ideas worth exploring. But I will not back down on the basic principle that if Americans can't find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice. And I will make sure that no government bureaucrat or insurance company bureaucrat gets between you and the care that you need.

This is a pretty clear explication of the public option proposals on offer in both the House and the Senate. It's also a fairly clear sign that Obama's quite willing to sign off on something that falls short of the public option progressives are demanding. Loosely translated, it suggests that Obama is demanding that health care reform include...something: a public option, a triggered public option, or a co-op. But he'll draw the line if it doesn't call for some sort of alternative option, triggered or otherwise.

You can read the entire public-option excerpt below the fold.

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Health Care

Obama to Acknowledge the Potential for Compromise on the Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 5:10PM

Well this probably won't make reformers very happy. White House adviser David Axelrod now says that, in his speech before Congress tonight, President Barack Obama will acknowledge the potential for compromise on the public option

"He believes the public [option] choice, within that pool that we're going to create for uninsured Americans and small businesses would be helpful in terms of bringing competition and choice. He thinks that could be good for consumers, and he's going to make the case for that, but he's also going to make the point that this is not--this is an ends to a means. It's not the essence of this debate. It's a part of--it's one of the tools, and there are other ideas out there that-to-bring competition and choice that are--that are worthy as well," Axelrod said.

Emphasis mine. Questioned further by Wolf Blitzer, Axelrod said Obama will nod at both of most commonly suggested public option alternatives: the co-op model, and the triggered public option.

"He will acknowledge [co-ops]," Axelrod said. "There's the idea of putting trigger on the public option so it goes into effect at some date when it's clear that a market is uncompetitive. There are a number of ideas, but what is very important is that we have the kind of competition and choice that will help consumers in many states in this country."

Barack Obama

Will A Nod Tonight From Obama Save Public Option?

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 4:26PM

Numerous reports now suggest that President Obama's health care speech tonight will include a fairly ringing endorsement of--though not a demand for--a public option. And though from all accounts, Obama's position on the public option (supportive, but not insistent) will remain unchanged, the development might come as a surprise to those who were paying close attention to the news last week. And, if it's emphatic enough, it will be a welcome sign to reformers that the public option will fight another day.

On Wednesday, a number White House officials began whispering to members of the White House press corps that the public option was on its way out--a trial balloon that led George Stephanopoulos to ask, "What is "death with dignity" for the public option?"

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Health Care

Schumer: Let's Use Reconciliation Wherever We Can

Rachel Slajda | September 9, 2009, 4:08PM

Sen Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), in an interview with The American Prospect, said he's "always favored using reconciliation for the good parts" of the health care reform bill.

"We've looked at it and you can't use reconciliation for everything, [but] you can use it for a good number of things," he said. "There's nothing wrong with using it for the places where you can use it and then trying to get the 60 votes on the places where when you can't. You'd be surprised -- the number of places where you can use it is larger than we first thought."

He declined to be more specific.

Schumer also said piece-by-piece reconciliation would strengthen the bill.

"I think that will get you the best bill, the strongest bill and the bill that will have the greatest positive effect on the American people. Ultimately, we'll be judged not by whether we pass the bill, but ultimately we'll be judged by whether it works," he said.

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Olympia Snowe

Snowe: White House Needs to Compromise on the Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 3:31PM

Sen. Olympia Snow (R-ME)

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) may be the deciding vote--and the deciding voice--on health care reform, but for the time being she's warning President Obama that she doesn't support a public option without a trigger and urging the White House to compromise with other Republicans.

"I talked to [President Obama] last week while I was in Maine and I talked to him on Monday as well," Snowe said on MSNBC earlier today. "We talked about the public option. I was ... urging him if he could take the public option off the table in his speech this evening so it could provide, I think, a momentum of a different kind in moving this issue forward overall."

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Anthony Weiner

Weiner: If Left Can't Pass Even A Modest Public Option, Nobody Will Take Them Seriously

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 1:58PM

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)--a single payer-supporter and one of the most visible surrogates for a public option in Congress--has some stark words of warning for Congressional liberals: If they don't vote against a health care bill without a public option, as he intends to do, nobody will ever buy their threats.

"There is clearly a sense that progressives in Congress are easily rolled," Weiner told Greg Sargent.

"If the Congressional left can't pass even something as modest as a watered down public option, then frankly I don't think anyone is going to take the left very seriously later on in this Congress," he added. "When Blue Dogs talk, there are fewer of them but they have more influence than when progressives talk."

Weiner reiterated his intent to vote no on health care legislation without a public option. In mid-August, Weiner cautioned that "unless [President Obama] says a public option is the way to go, I'm gonna be a no, and so will a lot of people."

Health Care

Baucus: I'll Move Forward on Health Care Without Republicans if Necessary

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 1:05PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

Senate Finance Committee chariman Max Baucus (D-MT) told reporters today that he's moving forward on his health care proposal with or without Republicans. He said that the trigger concept hasn't really been discussed in his panel's negotiation, and that he's increasingly of the belief that a public option can not pass the Senate.

"I will move forward anyway," Baucus said. "We have to move forward. I told Chuck Grassley that."

Grassley is the Finance Committee's ranking member, and the Republican leader on health care negotiations in the committee's so-called "Gang of Six"

Baucus said the proposal he unveils next week will be similar to the draft he released yesterday, which mandates subsidized coverage and expands Medicaid, but only provides for the creation of private co-ops--not for a public option.

"It is similar to the proposal I issued on Sunday night. I think that is close to a measure that will pass both the committee and Senate," Baucus said.

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Health Care

Poll: Majority Disapprove of Obama's Performance On Health Care

Eric Kleefeld | September 9, 2009, 1:00PM

President Barack Obama

The new AP/GfK poll today, coming out just as President Obama is about to address Congress on health care, finds that he's coming into the debate in a weak position.

Obama's approval on his handling of health care right now is only 42%, with 52% disapproval on health care.

This other question should concern Democrats: "If President Obama and the Democrats in Congress are unable to win support from Republicans to pass a health care plan this year, what should they do?" The numbers: Go ahead and pass a bill without Republican support, 28%; Keep trying until they are able to make a deal with the Republicans, 66%.

Looking at this number, it's clear that the burden on Obama and the Democrats at this point is to demonstrate clearly through tonight's speech and the following events that Republicans won't make a deal. If that case isn't made, there really might not be enough political capital to withstand the potential fallout from a Dems-only bill.

Health Care

Baucus to Unveil Draft Next Week, Begin Health Care Hearings September 21

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 12:30PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) plans to unveil a draft of his health care legislation next week, and begin hearings on September 21st. Baucus has reportedly told the panel's Democrats that he will move ahead whether or not Republicans plan to support the meeting.

The move keeps with Baucus' vow to release a completed draft by September 15. More details as they emerge.

Michele Bachmann

Bachmann To Go From Town Hall To Tea Party

Eric Kleefeld | September 9, 2009, 12:17PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Our friends at the Dump Bachmann blog have spotted a fun little quirk in Rep. Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) schedule for this Saturday.

In the early part of the morning, Bachmann will be hosting a town hall on health care. Then in the late morning, she will be proceeding directly to speaking at...a Tea Party.

So first it's a Bachmann town hall, and then a Tea Party. Really, how do you tell the difference?

Health Care

Conrad Again Criticizes Idea Of Deadline For Health Care Bill

Rachel Slajda | September 9, 2009, 11:50AM

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND)

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) today took a shot at the president for pushing a deadline for passing health care reform legislation, saying a deadline is "counterproductive."

"The president's job is to push ... if he doesn't push it tends to drift," Conrad told reporters this morning. "But this idea that there is a drop-dead day or hour is absolutely counterproductive to doing something that is critical."

Conrad, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, has expressed dismay with the idea of a deadline before.

But yesterday it was committee chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), not the president, who was pushing deadlines. Baucus said yesterday that bipartisan negotiators on the committee had better speak up by 10 a.m. today if they had changes to his proposal.

Health Care

Cover for the Left and Right? Why Triggers Are the Talk of Washington

Brian Beutler | September 8, 2009, 6:32PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

It's an obscure policy tool that isn't even written yet, and would be buried deep in the weeds of a thousand page health care bill. But somehow, a "trigger-mechanism" is the talk of Washington right now. How did that happen?

Substantively, the purpose of a trigger would be to delay--perhaps briefly, perhaps forever--the implementation of a public option; making it contingent on the failure of insurance companies to broadly expand access to affordable coverage. The question of how long that delay would be (one year? eternal?) is impossible to answer, and would depend in large part on the way the legislation is written. But it's that essential lack of certainty that could provide both liberals and moderates enough political cover to get on board.

As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today, the strong preference among Democratic party leaders is to pass a health care bill without resorting to procedural tactics that would shut out Republicans completely. That means coming up with a plan that will win the support of (at least) Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), whose preference all along has been to affix the public option to a trigger mechanism.

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Health Care

Pelosi Warns: Insurers Will Face a Stronger Public Option if We Go with Triggers

Brian Beutler | September 8, 2009, 5:40PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Here's a little noticed moment from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's press conference earlier today.

"[T]his, as I say, is the legislative process. And right now, we will have a public option in our bill," Pelosi said.

But I said it before and I'll say it again: The health insurance industry, which is out there fighting the public option tooth and nail because it does increase competition, which they don't want. They'd be better getting a public option now than one that is triggered because if you have a triggered public option, it's because the insurance industry has demonstrated that they're not cooperating, they're not doing the right thing, and I think they'll have a tougher public option to deal with.

Emphasis mine.

It would be premature to say that this is the deal being hashed out behind the scenes right now. But this seems like a clear warning from Pelosi to insurers--and also a signal to public option skeptics within her own party--that if the House backs a plan to "trigger" the public option, it will only do so if the triggers are affixed to a stronger, more robust public plan. That's a bit of a tell, I'd say.

Robert Menendez

Menendez: Dems Are Going To Get Health Care Done

Eric Kleefeld | September 8, 2009, 4:45PM

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

On a conference call just now with Democratic supporters, DSCC chairman Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) sought to paint an optimistic but cautious outlook for 2010 -- and also dealt with some skepticism from the base over health care.

Menendez said how the president's party has almost always lost seats in the mid-term elections, but that Dems have a good set of candidates and will have real accomplishments to run on in key races in 2010.

He then took questions that had been submitted by e-mail, and got a tough one: Why should the e-mailer continue to help Democrats, if they can't get health care done?

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Health Care

Pelosi: A Public Option Is Essential...For the Moment

Brian Beutler | September 8, 2009, 4:06PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

After a meeting with President Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she believes a public option will be essential to passing a bill in the House of Representatives...for the time being anyhow.

"I believe that the public option will be essential to our passing a bill in the House of Representatives," Pelosi said. "[President Obama] said, if you have a better idea, put it on the table. So if somebody has a better idea of how to do that, put it on the table. For the moment, however, as far as our house members are concerned, the overwhelming majority of them support a public option."

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Chuck Grassley

Report: Grassley Lukewarm on Baucus Health Care Proposal

Brian Beutler | September 8, 2009, 1:52PM

This doesn't come as a tremendous surprise at this point, but Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)--ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee--has some pretty serious reservations about his friend Max Baucus' health care proposal.

According to CNN, Grassley objects to a fee Baucus has suggested imposing on insurance companies to help cover the cost of the legislation, as well as to the fact that the bill's bottom line is expected to hover near $900 billion. Grassley was aiming for something about $100 billion lower.

As I reported earlier, the Finance Committee's "Gang of Six" will meet later this afternoon to discuss the proposal and where Baucus will gauge whether his proposal will have any Republican support other than from moderate Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

Health Care

Baucus Releases Health Care Plan Summary

Brian Beutler | September 8, 2009, 1:18PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

Yesterday, we reported some of the key aspects of Sen. Max Baucus' health care proposal, now being circulated among members of the Senate Finance Committee. A more comprehensive explanation can be found in this 18-page summary. I'll have more to report on this shortly.

Baucus is meeting with the so-called "Gang of Six" at 3 p.m. today to gauge the level of support this plan has from members of the minority.

Health Care

Grijalva: Vast Majority of House Progressives Not Prepared to "Surrender" on Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 8, 2009, 1:18PM

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

A key House liberal, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, says that a vast majority of House liberals aren't about to agree to another compromise on the public option.

"The vast majority of CPC is not prepared to wave a white flag on public option," Grijalva told Greg Sargent. "A trigger would be a surrender."

As Greg notes, a vast majority of the 60-or-so members who vowed to oppose a bill without a public option would still be enough to ensure that the bill did not pass.

By way of contrast, House Majority leader Steny Hoyer says the public option might have to go. And a knowledgeable House aide tells me that many progressives are looking at other ways to achieve "real reform."

As before, House leaders can only lose 38 votes within the Democratic caucus if a bill is going to pass.

Health Care

Hoyer Again Contradicts Pelosi, Says House Might Have To Drop Public Option

Rachel Slajda | September 8, 2009, 12:50PM

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) indicated today that the House might have to push forward on health care reform without a public option.

The Hill reports that Hoyer said, "In the final analysis, we have to see what will pass. ... I think the public option is a very good choice for consumers to have. On the other hand, I've said I hope we can move a bill forward."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has said repeatedly that a bill without a public option cannot pass the house.

This isn't the first time that Hoyer, who is No. 2 in the House leadership, has come out as more lax on the public option than Pelosi. In late August he said, "I'm for a public option but I'm also for passing a bill."

Health Care

Progressives Begin to Wobble on Public Option Commitment

Brian Beutler | September 8, 2009, 12:27PM

At least four signatories to a July letter drawing a line in the sand over a public option have suggested that they may be willing to support a compromise proposal to "trigger" a public option only as a fallback if other reforms don't produce results on their own.

"Any bill that does not provide, at a minimum, for a public option with reimbursement rates based on Medicare rates...is unacceptable," the letter read. "We simply cannot vote for such a proposal."

Among the signatories were Reps. Mike Capuano (D-MA) Jim McGovern (D-MA), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), and Sam Farr (D-CA), who now say that definitions of "public option" may vary.

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Charles Boustany

Boustany, Who Has Backed End-of-Life Counseling, To Deliver GOP Response To Obama

Eric Kleefeld | September 8, 2009, 11:56AM

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA)

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA), a three-term Congressman and medical doctor, will be giving the Republican response to President Obama's address on health care tomorrow night, George Stephanopoulos reports.

Greg Sargent reports that the speech will utilize the standard Republican talking points in this area -- that Democrats are refusing to work with Republicans, and that they'll put government bureaucrats between you and your doctor.

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Health Care

Key Blue Dog: I Will Oppose Health Care Bill with Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 8, 2009, 9:56AM

Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR)

Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR)--the leader of the Blue Dogs' Health Care Task Force--says he will vote against health care legislation if it includes a public option.

"I have been skeptical about the public health insurance option from the beginning and used August to get feedback from you, my constituents," Ross wrote in a newsletter to constituents. "An overwhelming number of you oppose a government-run health insurance option and it is your feedback that has led me to oppose the public option as well."

"[I]f House leadership presents a final bill that contains a government-run public option, I will oppose it," he added.

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Health Care

Next Step for Senate Liberals: Get the Ball Out of Baucus' Court

Brian Beutler | September 8, 2009, 9:21AM

Liberals aren't particularly impressed with the draft health care legislation Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) circulated over the weekend...to say the least. But for reform-oriented members of the Senate the key at this point is simple: get the ball out of Baucus' court.

Though they were largely closed out of negotiations over health care legislation for the last several weeks, some members of the Senate Finance Committee--including Sens. Schumer, Rockefeller, and Kerry--do support a public option. But though Baucus' draft falls far short on that score, they'll almost certainly vote to move it forward anyhow.

"If they vote against it, it won't be in the Finance committee," says a Senate Democratic aide.

Once it's out of committee, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will take the lead in merging it with legislation voted out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee--and at that point, the fate of the public option in the Senate will be largely in his hands.

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Health Care

Reform Group Demanded Public Option in Friday Letter To Baucus

Brian Beutler | September 7, 2009, 2:17PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

Few have commented this Labor Day on Sen. Max Baucus' health care reform bill, which does not include a public option.

But it's fairly clear that the bill won't win the support of reform groups, many of whom see the public option as a necessary element of reform. Asked for comment, the reform campaign Health Care for America Now referred me to letters they sent Friday to Baucus, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and President Obama demanding that the Finance Committee pass a bill with a strong public option.

"Despite literally months of continuous outreach and effort by you in the Senate Finance Committee, the response of the Republican leadership has been to obstruct progress on achieving our shared goals," the letter to Baucus reads.

Across the four other congressional committees that have already acted on comprehensive health care legislation, a consistent outline has emerged.

It is now time the Finance Committee, and then the full Senate, move forward with a bill that contains...a strong public option...national (not a separate plan in every state), publicly operated and accountable, available on day one across the nation, and have the authority to establish payment rates that balance the dual goals of guaranteeing broad accessto providers and ensuring affordability.

Baucus, of course, didn't follow through.

You can read all three letters at this link. They were delivered Friday, amid news reports that the White House might deliver Congress a bill of its own, and that Baucus was finally ready to circulate a draft of his legislation.

Barack Obama

Obama to AFL: I Believe a Public Option Would Improve Quality, Bring Down Costs

Brian Beutler | September 7, 2009, 1:34PM

In prepared remarks to the AFL-CIO, President Obama will say, "I continue to believe that a public option within the basket of insurance choices would help improve quality and bring down costs."

Not much meat there, though he will caution, "I'll have a lot more to say about this Wednesday night, and I don't want to give it all away."

But surely reformers--and AFL leaders who've vowed to oppose health care reform legislation that does not include a public option--were hoping to hear more.

You can read the full text of his remarks here.

Ben Nelson

Nelson Comes Out for Public Option with "Triggers"

Brian Beutler | September 7, 2009, 9:06AM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

Yesterday, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) said he supports a public option...but only as a fallback mechanism if a modified health insurance market fails to provide affordable insurance to all consumers.

"If, somehow, the private market doesn't respond the way that it's supposed to...it would trigger a public option or a government-run option," Nelson said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, "but only as a fail safe, backstop to the process. And when I say trigger ... I don't mean a hair trigger. I mean a true trigger."

Nelson is one of the Senate's most conservative Democrats, and, as such, often a barometer for the sorts of measures that might win the one or two Republican votes needed to overcome Republican filibusters. And, tellingly, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has endorsed the idea of affixing the public option to a trigger.

Health Care

Baucus Unveils Health Care Plan Without Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 7, 2009, 8:56AM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

After months of frustrating deliberations, and a threat from the White House that President Obama would write his own legislation, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus has finally circulated a draft of a health care bill--one that does not create a public option, but allows for the creation of health care co-operatives.

According to the New York Times, Baucus' plan is calculated to win the support of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME). But Snowe supports a public option affixed to a so-called "trigger mechanism," raising questions about why this plan doesn't at least propose something along those lines.

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Health Care

Report: Baucus to Release Health Care Plan as Early as Tomorrow

Brian Beutler | September 4, 2009, 6:21PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

With the White House stepping in to take control of the health care debate out of the hands of bipartisan health care negotiators, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, seemingly realizes it's time to put up or shut up.

In a Friday afternoon conference call, Baucus told the so-called Gang of Six that he'd be releasing a plan very soon, according to Politico--perhaps as early as tomorrow.

The White House is reportedly working on a bill of its own, amid negotiations with the gang of six's most moderate Republican, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME). And though the administration's plans to introduce it aren't final, Baucus seems to have gotten the message and could unveil his committee's bill sooner than expected. If that happens, it'll be interesting to see if the draft lands with a splash or a thud.

Health Care

Obama Asks Liberals How Far They're Willing to Compromise on Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 4, 2009, 5:58PM

A variety of reports suggest that, during a conference call this afternoon, President Obama probed House progressives to see just how flexible their demands are.

A source familiar with the call tells TPM that Obama asked the group to define their red line when they talk about a "robust public option."

NBC reports that Obama reminded the group that they enjoy the security of representing safely Democratic districts.

And progressive caucus co-chair Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) told Greg Sargent that Obama outright asked the participants how far they're willing to compromise on the public option.

All in all it appears very much as if the President is feeling out how willing House Democrats will be to support a bill that falls short of meeting their earlier demands for a Medicare-like public option available to consumers nation-wide, without any triggers. As I reported earlier today, Obama's set to meet with progressive House leaders Tuesday ahead of his big health care speech before Congress. That's shaping up to be an extremely crucial meeting.

Health Care

Report: White House Drafting its Own Health Care Bill

Brian Beutler | September 4, 2009, 4:12PM

We know that the White House has been in deep health care negotiations with Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), who they hope will be the 60th vote needed to overcome a filibuster. Now, it seems, the administration is drafting its own legislation--presumably influenced by those negotiations--to be introduced sometime after the President's health care speech, to be delivered Wednesday before a joint session of Congress.

According to CNN:

Multiple sources close to the process [say] that while the plan is uncertain, they are preparing for the possibility they could deliver their own legislation to Capitol Hill sometime after the President Barack Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress Wednesday.

As always, it's worth cautioning that the situation is fluid. But as I noted earlier, the White House's preference seems to be to work with Snowe to craft a bill that can squeak by in the Senate. That package--which will presumably lack a robust public option, or will attach it to a trigger--will have to be sold to House progressives, who have loudly objected to the idea of compromising on that point.

For more on the menu of options before the White House, see here.

Health Care

Clyburn: We Should Compromise on Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 4, 2009, 3:59PM

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)

The influential House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) says Democrats should accept a compromise--perhaps temporarily--over the public option.

"We ought to set up some pilot programs regionally around the country," Clyburn told McClatchy. "What you're trying to do is find out what works and what doesn't work."

According to McClatchy, "After a four-year limited trial run, Clyburn said, the federal health-care coverage would be expanded only if it doesn't drive up costs and prompt companies to stop providing private insurance, as Republican opponents have claimed a nationwide public option would do."

The idea, which Clyburn has proposed to the White House, would serve as something of a compromise between a public option and a public option affixed to a trigger--to plant the seeds of a public option in regions around the country, but not take it nation-wide until a later date, if cost savings and coverage expansions went unrealized.

Health Care

With Reform in Jeopardy, and Progressives Restless, Obama Weighs His Options

Brian Beutler | September 4, 2009, 1:55PM

President Barack Obama and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

After nearly 48 hours of trial balloons and kabuki theater, it seems pretty clear that the White House is focusing its attentions on a couple different potential paths forward for health care reform.

The first, and seemingly preferred, idea is to court Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), give her tremendous say in the shape of legislation, and then, if that's good enough to get 60 votes in the Senate, pressure House progressives to hold their noses and go along with it. It wouldn't be pretty though. Snowe's preferred approach appears to be a 'trigger' for a public option -- implementing a public option only if insurance companies are unable to rein in costs and expand coverage by a certain fixed date. And House progressives have really put themselves on the line for a public option free from any trigger mechanism.

If that strategy fails at any point along the road, the White House could still turn to the Democrat-only strategy of passing reform (or at least, many elements of reform) through the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process. Just yesterday, former Senate Majority Leader and current White House ally Tom Daschle wrote in the Wall Street Journal "should Republican intransigence continue, [Democrats] must focus on the budgetary implications of health reform and use the Senate rules of budget reconciliation to allow a health-care bill [to] move with majority support. The choice between complete legislative failure and majority rule should not pose a dilemma for any Democratic senator."

That's an important tell.

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Ben Nelson

Nelson: "Government Approach" Will Make Health Care Reform "Implode"

Brian Beutler | September 4, 2009, 9:38AM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Via Greg Sargent, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)--one of the Senate's perennial "centrists"--is staking clearer ground on the question of the public option. Asked by the Lincoln Journal-Star to look into the future a bit, Nelson said "I see two endings. One is we find areas we can agree upon and we begin to do things incrementally, taking more of an insurance approach, not a government approach. Or it implodes."

In the days leading up to the President's big Wednesday health care reform speech it will be crucial to keep an eye on how conservative Dems position, or reposition themselves. House progressives are renewing their insistence on a public option, and pressuring on the White House to stand with them. Democratic opponents of the public option, however, have yet to take such a firm stance.

Health Care

A Final Farewell? Gang of Six to Meet Today

Brian Beutler | September 4, 2009, 8:59AM

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY)

Most observers--including the White House--consider the bipartisan Gang of Six health care discussions in the Senate Finance Committee to be a lost cause. But nonetheless, the group still plans to meet today to take stock of the (many) developments that have transpired in the two weeks since they last spoke two weeks ago.

Just yesterday, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) released a statement insisting his voice was still relevant to the health care debate. But he also said he expects health care reform to fail, and he recently affirmed the validity of the false "death panel" smear, which dogged the cause of health care reform for much of August.

Assuming the group dissolves--or that Democratic leaders take control of health care legislation out of its hands--the Democrats will have to either win over Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and pass health care reform on her terms (which would likely mean putting the public option on a "trigger") or they'll have pass what reforms they can via the budget reconciliation process, which involves different procedural hurdles, but which, crucially, can't be filibustered.

Health Care

Hoffa: I Could Accept Reform Without Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 4, 2009, 8:51AM

Teamsters President James P. Hoffa

Two weeks ago, International Brotherhood of Teamsters leader James Hoffa warned Blue Dog Democrats they were making a big mistake by opposing the President's health care reform proposal--and in particular, the public option.

"A lot of these people we supported, and I think they're making a big mistake by not supporting the president," Hoffa told Bill Press

Yesterday, he made a big concession to them, telling Bloomberg that dropping the public option is "not a deal killer."

"We've got to find out what's doable," Hoffa said.

The Teamsters are affiliated with the labor federation Change to Win, which has taken a less aggressive approach to the public option in recent days. AFL-CIO's incoming president Richard Trumka has said his group will oppose health care reform legislation that does not include a public option, and will not support Democrats who oppose the measure.

Health Care

Pelosi: A Bill Without a Strong Public Option Will Not Pass the House

Brian Beutler | September 3, 2009, 6:41PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

If you weren't already convinced that the House and the Obama administration are on a collision course, you might be now.

The latest statement out of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office is unequivocal: "A bill without a strong public option will not pass the House," Pelosi said.

Pelosi has said the same thing in the past, but with the fight over the public option reaching a fever pitch--and the White House signaling left and right that they're walking away from it--her renewed insistence is telling, and will no doubt come as encouraging news to progressives.

"If someone has a better idea for promoting competition and reducing health care costs, they should put it on the table," Pelosi said. "Eliminating the public option would be a major victory for the insurance companies who have rationed care, increased premiums and denied coverage."

Earlier today, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)--a leading public option surrogate--said a health care bill with a public option "trigger" might pass the House. But perhaps he spoke too soon.

You can read the entire statement below the fold.

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Sherrod Brown

Brown to White House: "Congress is Writing the Bill, the President's Not"

Brian Beutler | September 3, 2009, 6:12PM

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Despite several indications that the White House will ultimately not go to bat for a public option, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) says he's seen no signs that the White House will change course--but if they do, he's not budging.

"I know that the White House is debating it internally," Brown said in an interview with TPMDC. "But Congress is writing the bill, the President's not."

"The White House should not take progressives for granted," an animated Brown told me. "It's not just the conservatives he needs to be in the fold. It's the progressives who've been in the vineyards fighting for reform for years."

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Health Care

House Progressives and the White House on a Collision Course Over Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 3, 2009, 5:34PM

Reps. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are laying down a new mark. Though President Obama appears to be laying the groundwork to scrap the public option, and progressives are pessimistic about his upcoming health care speech before Congress, the CPC is digging in on its earlier vow to block health care legislation that does not include a public option, setting the stage for a potential rift in the Democratic party.

"We look forward to meeting with you regarding retaining a robust public option in any final health reform bill and request that that meeting take place as soon as possible," they wrote in a letter to Obama today. "Any bill that does not provide, at a minimum, a public option built on the Medicare provider system and with reimbursement based on Medicare rates--not negotiated rates--is unacceptable."

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Health Care

Enzi: I Still Matter! Really!!!!

Brian Beutler | September 3, 2009, 4:28PM

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY)

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) wants everybody in Washington to know that, though the White House and most Democrats have written him off completely, he's still relevant to the health care debate.

"Despite some reports, I am still working with Sen. Baucus and other members of the so-called Gang of Six," Enzi said in a statement today.

This is the same Mike Enzi who said today that the health care bill he's so meticulously working on will likely fail, and that he probably won't support it in any case.

Health Care

Majority of Nevadans Support a Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 3, 2009, 3:40PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may be in jeopardy of losing his seat in Nevada--but it's not because of his stance on health care reform.

A new Research 2000 poll commissioned by Daily Kos finds that, by a significant margin of 52-40, Nevadans favor creating a public option.

As with almost all of these polls, the findings are extremely polarized, with a huge majority of Democrats in favor of creating a government run health insurance plan, and a huge majority of Republicans opposing it.

Reid has said he's in favor of creating a public option that would be administered by a private entity.

Health Care

Baucus: Public Option Not Likely to Survive

Brian Beutler | September 3, 2009, 2:59PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

No big surprise here, but at this stage of the game it's worth keeping tabs on what all the key players are saying. Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus says a public option probably isn't gonna make it.

"I'm not sure if public option is going to survive, frankly," Baucus told a crowd in Missoula today, saying a co-op system is much more likely.

Baucus has been fairly mum on his own preferences since handing over the fate of health care reform to the now-defunct Gang of Six. Though he once endorsed a public option, his committee walked away from the measure long ago, and a Finance Committee staffer told me last month that the proposal that eventually emerges from the Finance Committee will represent what Baucus believes can survive the Senate.

Public Option

Progressive Groups Petition Obama to Demand Public Option in Health Care Speech

Brian Beutler | September 3, 2009, 2:49PM

Many liberals may be readying themselves for the worst. But MoveOn and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee are filling the political space between now and President Obama's big Wednesday health care speech by pressuring him to support or demand a public option.

Both groups have blasted out petitions to their hundreds of thousands of members in the hope that a major public showing in support of the public option will convince Obama that there will be a political price to pay for abandoning it.

The MoveON petition reads: "President Obama, we're counting on you to fight for bold change on health care--including a strong public health insurance option. It's the key to breaking the stranglehold that private insurers have over our health care system."

While PCCC's is a bit bolder. "We worked so hard for real change. President Obama, please demand a strong public health insurance option in your speech to Congress. Letting the insurance companies win would not be change we can believe in."

You can read each group's letter to its members below the fold.

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Health Care

Sources: Expect Disappointed Progressives After Obama's Big Health Care Speech

Brian Beutler | September 3, 2009, 12:44PM

President Barack Obama

Late last night, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)--a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus--issued a press release saying he had "grave concerns" that the White House is telling pro-reform groups that they will "cease supporting" the public option.

Though I can not confirm Grijalva's specific claim entirely, after a number of off-the-record conversations with congressional and advocacy sources, it's clear that many progressives are preparing themselves to be disappointed next week.

Low-level White House officials have reached out to certain reform groups that have staked their ground on the need for a public option, I'm told, and warned them not to spend any more money advocating for the policy--that it's just not worth it. That suggestion hasn't been heeded--at least for now. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and Democracy for America raised over $100,000 to continue running this ad in Iowa after Congress returns from recess.

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Health Care

Schakowsky: I Will Not Vote For a Bill Without a Real Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 3, 2009, 9:17AM

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

House Progressives are increasingly indicating that they're worried the White House will sacrifice the public option.

"Many Members of Congress -- including myself -- will not support a health insurance reform bill that does not break the strangle hold of private insurance companies on our health care system," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). "That requires that consumers have a choice of a robust public health insurance plan. I will support nothing short of a robust public health insurance plan upon implementation, no triggers. I believe Congress will pass and the President will sign such a bill this Fall."

Schakowsky is chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus' health care task force. She's also a close Obama ally and many progressives believe that if the White House wants House progressives to compromise further on the public option, it will turn to her first. For now she's saying she's not budging.

Health Care

Grijalva: White House Telling Reformers It Will Cease Support for Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 3, 2009, 9:08AM

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

Last night, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus sent out a telling press release.

"I have grave concerns about calls reportedly being made from the Administration to health care reform advocacy organizations supporting the choice of a public option insurance plan," Grijalva said.

Grijalva said the White House is telling health care reformers, "they will cease supporting the public option portion of the upcoming health care reform legislation"

I truly expect the President to live up to the promises he has made to America about real change and that he truly stands for uninsured Americans and working families that need and are demanding a choice of a competitive public option when he addresses Wednesday's joint session of Congress.

Without a public option, this bill is not real reform. Real reform would lower and contain health care costs, precisely what inclusion of a public option would achieve. Without a robust public option, reform will enrich pharmaceutical and insurance companies because it will lack any significant competition and incentives to drive down health care costs for consumers.

Over 60 House progressives have vowed not to vote for legislation that doesn't include a public option--enough to ensure that a bill won't pass if they follow through.