Health Care

Controversial McKinsey Health Care Study Creates Major Dissent At Firm

Brian Beutler | June 10, 2011, 4:40PM

The political damage to President Obama's health care law may already be done. But there's a curious backstory to the report this week from a major consulting firm study that found "ObamaCare" would lead to fairly dramatic unintended consequences.

The consulting firm McKinsey & Company was thrust into the political spotlight Tuesday after it published a study -- at odds with the expert consensus -- finding that, once fully implemented, the health care reform law will drive huge numbers of employers to drop or dramatically restructure their companies' health care benefits.

The predictable fallout led Democrats, and several reporters, to press McKinsey for the survey itself -- a request McKinsey has declined on the grounds that the material is proprietary.

But multiple sources both within and outside the firm tell TPM the survey was not conducted using McKinsey's typical, meticulous methodology. Indeed, the article the firm published was not intended to give the subject matter the same authoritative treatment as more thorough studies on the same topic -- particularly those conducted by numerous think tanks, and the Congressional Budget Office, which came to the opposite conclusion. And that's created a clamor within the firm at high levels to set the record straight.

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Bush Tax Cuts

House Progressives Press Pelosi Not To Pass Extension Of Bush High-Income Tax Cuts

Brian Beutler | September 22, 2010, 9:08AM

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

Thirty-two House progressives have sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her not to allow a vote on extending President Bush's high-income tax cuts.

"[W]e respectfully urge you to bring to the floor, before Congress adjourns in October, a vote on President Obama's recently proposed tax plan: permanent tax cuts for the middle-class while allowing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans to expire, using any additional revenue to close our budget deficit," the letter reads.

The effort was organized by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, along with Reps. Mary Jo Kilroy and Alan Grayson.

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Bush Tax Cuts

Pelosi: 'Obama Middle-Class Tax Cuts' Will Happen This Congress ... Tax Cuts For The Rich Might Too!

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2010, 2:20PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

At her weekly press conference this afternoon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi predicted that Bush tax cuts on the first $250,000 of income will be extended. But she was unable, or unwilling to say whether the top-bracket tax cuts benefiting only the wealthy will be renewed.

"Without getting into procedure and timing and process, what we're going to do is to say: At the end of the day the extension of the Obama middle-income tax cuts will take place," Pelosi said.

To follow up, TPM asked Pelosi, "Is there any chance that the top-bracket tax cuts will be extended this Congress?"

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Health Care

Little Progress As Dems Hash Out Health Care Plan

Brian Beutler | March 11, 2010, 1:04PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

White House health care adviser Nancy-Ann DeParle gave House Democrats a complete walk through of the President's proposed fixes to the Senate health care bill at a caucus meeting this morning, fielding questions, particularly from progressives upset about the White House's failure to endorse a public option. But the Congressional Budget Office has yet to weigh in on the plan, so the waiting game continues. And some members, eager to get health care off their plates and out of the headlines, are getting nervous.

"It wasn't the big moment that I think when the all points bulletin went out last night that I think some people thought it was going to be," Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) told reporters as the meeting let out.

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Health Care

Another Countdown: White House Pushing March 18 As New Health Care Deadline

Christina Bellantoni | March 9, 2010, 2:58PM

David Axelrod and President Obama

Deadlines have long come and gone when it comes to the White House and health care, but top Obama administration officials have been saying today they think the House will hold a vote before the president leaves for his trip to Indonesia and Australia later this month.

"What happens in the next 10 days will be critical," President Obama's senior adviser David Axelrod told pro-reform advocacy groups today on a conference call hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement. Call-in details were provided to TPMDC.

"This is it, this is the big moment that we've been working for for a year," Axelrod said. "If we march together we can achieve it."

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Health Care

DeParle: Reid's Abortion Provisions Are 'In The Middle,' 'Status Quo'

Christina Bellantoni | November 19, 2009, 1:29PM

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

White House health care "czar" Nancy-Ann DeParle spoke with reporters this afternoon lauding the historic steps Congress has taken toward passing health care and to outline the next steps.

As we just reported, DeParle lauded Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a possible Democratic holdout on the procedural vote.

Reporters also asked about the provisions related to abortion, and both aides dodged the question by saying the issue was working its way through Congress and noting members are talking amongst themselves.

President Obama last week said he doesn't support the Stupak amendment, saying it was a health care, not an abortion bill, and DeParle took that a step further today.

DeParle signaled she prefers the Reid approach, saying the majority leader "carefully" worked on the issue and not mentioning the Stupak amendment.

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Health Care

White House Heaps Praise On Sen. Lincoln's Contributions To Health Care

Christina Bellantoni | November 19, 2009, 12:56PM

Director of the Office of Health Care Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

The White House is going for the attract 'em with honey strategy, heaping praise on some of the holdouts in the battle to get a health care reform bill passed.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln has been "and important and constructive player in this process and has made this a much better bill in this process," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said when asked on a conference call about where the conservative senator is leaning.

"She was a stalwart in working to protect seniors and taxpayers," White House health care czar Nancy-Ann DeParle chimed in.

They each said Lincoln (D-AR) was instrumental in improving the early version of the bill when it was clearing the Senate Finance Committee.

DeParle said Lincoln "was up there fighting" to get the Elder Justice Act included in the bill and said she saved taxpayers $600 million by capping tax deductions for CEO pay.

"That is huge that she got it in the bill," DeParle said.

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Health Care

Michelle Obama Uses Stories That 'Touch Our Hearts' In Health Care Pitch

Christina Bellantoni | November 13, 2009, 3:59PM

First Lady Michelle Obama

With President Obama abroad, First Lady Michelle Obama is stepping in for a few days with a focus on health care.

At an event with women at the White House this afternoon, the first lady joined health care czar Nancy-Ann DeParle. They showcased the stories of women whose families had suffered due to bad insurance and the Medicare "donut hole."

"These stories touch our hearts and they spark in us a fundamental source of unfairness," she said.

Obama said she can't say what the bill "that ultimately will cross my husband's desk will look like," but said it would be true reform.

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Health Care

Dems Keep Quiet As Leaders Hash Out Key Health Care Details

Brian Beutler | October 20, 2009, 6:35PM

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV); Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel; Senator Max Baucus (D-MT); Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT)

Another day, and still a dearth of details. Senators and White House officials were almost comically tight-lipped throughout the afternoon on the progress of health care reform negotiations, even though it's clear by now that the people in the room hashing out the Senate's bill are getting down to the nitty gritty.

During a weekly caucus meeting, Democrats were briefed on the details of last night's health care powwow, yet, afterward, none were forthcoming with details.

"What I'm especially pleased about is that we're not rushing," said Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE). "I'm sure there's some who are impatient."

"It wasn't a townhall meeting at all. It was more like a prayer meeting," said Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), who declined to divulge any specifics.

"We got into it a little bit, not a lot," added Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). "[Leadership is] extremely open and working with everybody."

In a moment of coyness gone awry, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters, "we're leaning towards talking about the public option." Last night his spokesman Jim Manley said, without going into detail, that Senate and White House negotiators discussed "the public option, affordability, and other key issues," during their evening scrum.

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Health Care

White House, Senate Principals Discuss Public Option, But Reach No Decisions--Talks Continue Tuesday

Brian Beutler | October 19, 2009, 7:36PM

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV); Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel; Senator Max Baucus (D-MT); Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT)

Senate health care leaders, and White House officials including Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Office of Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle and Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Max Baucus (D-MT), Harry Reid (D-NV), met behind closed doors for over an hour in a leadership office Monday night to discuss and negotiate the merging of two different health care bills.

A spokesman for Reid was mum about the details, except to say that the group discussed the public option, affordability and other issues at the heart of the plan to reform the nation's health care system.

The same officials are expected to huddle again Tuesday to continue the talks.