Health Care

Health Care Pulling Democrats On Left And Right, With Obama In The Middle

Christina Bellantoni | October 21, 2009, 1:40PM

United States Capitol

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is the power player right now, negotiating a careful merger between two bills with a goal of reaching 60 votes in his chamber. But the two other major players - the White House and Speaker Nancy Pelosi's House are left in a bit of a holding pattern.

Top White House staffers are helping with the merger, but sources tell TPMDC it's a more hands-off approach (for now) as Reid (D-NV) builds something that his caucus will fully support. Meanwhile, Pelosi (D-CA) is presenting the "robust" public option as the more fiscally responsible choice in hopes of pushing the conservative Blue Dogs closer to support it.

Pelosi is working hard to hit the 218 votes needed for passage by bringing together the most divergent factions in her caucus.

President Obama, for his part, urged Democrats last night to consider unity over the perfect bill, highlighting good things in "the bill you least like."

Progressive Democrats learning of the president's comments this morning were baffled since there seems to be growing support for the public option and the Congressional Budget Office is expected to score the bill with that included as less costly than originally anticipated.

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Jim Marshall

Blue Dog Jim Marshall Again Compares Current Health Care System, Including Medicare And Medicaid, To Soviet Union

Eric Kleefeld | October 19, 2009, 3:06PM

Rep. Jim Marshall (D-GA)

Blue Dog Rep. Jim Marshall (D-GA) appeared on Fox this afternoon, and compared the current health care system -- including Medicare and Medicaid -- to the Soviet Union.

"We've got this sort of central payment system, which is a fundamental problem. It's health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, making the payments, and we've got consumers and doctors pretty divorced from the costs associated with the decisions that are being made," said Marshall. "As a result, we've had an explosion in cost. I think we've got to see a fundamental change in the system that we've got right now for payment. If we don't do that, we'll continue to have opportunities to fix waste, fraud and abuse, because systems that are centrally planned and controlled -- like the Soviet system -- are just full of those kinds of issues."

Marshall has previously made this comparison, saying back in September: "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."