Obama Taking an Active Role in Health Talks

[steven johnson]

Source: NY Times

In pursuing his proposed overhaul of the health care system, President Obama has consistently presented himself as aloof from the legislative fray, merely offering broad principles. Prominent among them is the creation of a strong, government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers and press for lower costs.
Behind the scenes, however, Mr. Obama and his advisers have been quite active, sometimes negotiating deals with a degree of cold-eyed political realism potentially at odds with the president's rhetoric.
Early last month, for example, hospital officials were poised to appear at the White House to announce a deal limiting their industry's share of the costs of the overhaul proposal when a wave of jitters swept through the group. Senator Max Baucus, the Finance Committee chairman and a party to the deal, had abruptly pulled out of the event. Was he backing away from his end of the deal?
Not to worry, Jim Messina, the deputy White House chief of staff, told the hospital lobbyists, according to White House officials and lobbyists briefed on the call. The White House was standing behind the deal, Mr. Messina told them, capping the industry's costs at a maximum of $155 billion over 10 years in exchange for its political support.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/health/policy/13health.html?_r=1&hp

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You sly dog!

You can take Obama out of community organizing but you can't take community organizing out of Obama.

[Historic NY]

1. He needs to be highly active it obvious Pelosi & Reid aren't if its to get a vote.

[zoff]

2. He needs to be on message ...

... a strong message. To me, that would be getting off the defensive and getting on the offensive. He needs to strongly differentiate what he is doing (change) as opposed to what the reich is doing (no change). Do we move forward and take that big step into single-payer and a quantum leap in the improvement of Americans' lives or do we keep counting the casualties of the care-for-profit industry?

Then he and the Dems need to stop making backroom deals with lobbyists. Then they need to stop all this bipartisan BS. Bipartisanship cannot exist when one side wants change and the other side doesn't. And after all that bipartisanship, the other side isn't going to vote for whatever comes out anyway! (credit to Rachel Maddow)

If congress passes a shitty bill, the Dems (and repugs) are telling us that we have to continue to pay the price of the best health care system in the world. Then they have to pay the price as well ... we vote them out.

[On the Road]

3. It is Very Good to Hear

He hasn't actually sounded very engaged recently despite the speeches and town halls.

I have getting very worried about the chances of a strong public option getting removed, but if Obama is working the issue like this. If he can pull a good plan off with broad support it will be a work of staggering genius.

[Frank Booth]

4. Read the article, then see if you're still glad Obama's involved.

Several hospital lobbyists involved in the White House deals said it was understood as a condition of their support that the final legislation would not include a government-run health plan paying Medicare rates — generally 80 percent of private sector rates — or controlled by the secretary of health and human services.

“We have an agreement with the White House that I’m very confident will be seen all the way through conference,” a lobbyist, Chip Kahn, director of the Federation of American Hospitals, told a Capitol Hill newsletter.

My disillusionment grows by the day.

[snot]

5. Can someone pls explain to all of us

Baucus.

I keep hearing he's key.

Who owns him? Can we get through to him, and how?