Tom Daschle Healthcare Plan: No Public Option, Taxes On Health Benefits, Private Insurance Mandate

[Better Believe It]

- I'm sure he went over his ideas during his meeting with President Obama. Do ya think he argued real hard to a strong public option? -


THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
__________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 21, 2009

Readout of the President’s meeting with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle today


"The President invited Senator Daschle to the White House for a quick check-in on the health insurance reform process and to exchange views on the process moving forward. Senator Daschle is one of the foremost experts on health care and on the legislative process, and has been a friend and sounding-board for the President for several years. The two agreed that substantive reform that lowers costs, reforms the insurance industry, and expands coverage is too important to wait another year or another administration, and they agreed to stay in touch over the coming weeks and months as this critical effort moves forward."

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Former Senate leaders offer compromise on healthcare
by Lisa Wangsness, Political Reporter
The Boston Globe
June 17, 2009


WASHINGTON -- Three former Senate majority leaders presented a bipartisan healthcare plan today, mapping out a potential path to a compromise as animosity over policy differences intensified on Capitol Hill.

Republicans Howard Baker and Bob Dole and joined Democrat Tom Daschle in a grand meeting room in Union Station today to unveil a plan that tackled, at least in broad terms, the biggest sticking points: whether to have a national public insurance plan (no, but states could create their own); how much it should cost (around $1.2 trillion over 10 years); whether to pay for it by taxing the health benefits people get through work (yes, but only minimally).

Former Democratic Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell of Maine, who is serving as President Obama's envoy to the Middle East and was not present today, also helped develop the plan.

One of the most important compromises to emerge: The former majority leaders backed taxing a portion of the most expensive employer-sponsored health benefits to help pay for their proposal. This may give new momentum to that idea, which President Obama has repeatedly discouraged and many liberal Democrats on Capitol Hill oppose.

Senator Max Baucus and other centrists have argued that taxing a portion of the most generous employer sponsored benefits for the highest income workers is one of the fairest and easiest ways to help pay for health care. But many liberal Democrats are afraid of levying new taxes during a recession and think it would hurt union workers who have given up salary increases to preserve generous benefits.

They found a middle ground by deciding to let a more heavily regulated private market try to work first, and by letting states choose to establish their own public insurance plans. The federal government would be allowed to step in if, over time, affordable insurance options did not emerge in every state.

"It's time to find consensus here," Daschle said. "We've come too far and gained too much momentum for our efforts to fail on disagreement on one single issue."

The leaders also agreed that individuals should be required to purchase insurance.

"I had a lot of trouble with mandates, just as Tom had trouble with the public plan," Dole said. "But if we can't compromise... how are we ever going to get a bill passed?"

Please read the complete article at:

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/06/washington_thre.html

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Daschle Folds on Federal Public Health Care
ABC News' Elizabeth Gorman reports
June 17, 2009

In an attempt at bipartisanship, three former majority leaders of the U.S. Senate, Tom Daschle, Howard Baker, and Bob Dole, offered their solution today to the biggest obstacle to achieving health care reform -- a public option.

"While I feel very strongly that consumers should have the choice of a national, Medicare-like plan, my colleagues do not. . . But we were concerned that the ongoing health reform debate is beginning to show signs of fracture on the public plan issue, so in order to advance the process of developing bipartisan legislation and to move it forward, it's time to find consensus here," Daschle said.

In a blow to President Obama and many of his Democratic allies in the health care fight, the plan recommends that there be no federal public option, but rather state or regional public-sponsored networks that would compete with private health plans, according to the summary released today by the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The White House praised the Bipartisan Policy Center’s approach in a statement that continues to touch on only the broadest of goals.

"This group of extraordinarily experienced legislators agree with the President that health reform must be enacted this year because the status quo -- skyrocketing health care costs, rising premiums, swelling deficits – is unsustainable," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. "With this report, they have demonstrated what can be achieved with bipartisan effort. The Bipartisan Policy Center has produced a significant report, and the White House applauds their efforts," added Gibbs.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/06/daschle-folds-on-federal-public-health-care-plan.html

THE OLD WHITE GUYS BI-PARTISAN GANG OF FOUR

[WCGreen]

1. This is a great idea....

Three GOP leaders and one Dem...

I thought we had an election that basically told the GOP to take the back seat...

[TankLV]

4. And STILL not meeting with UNIVERAL SINGLE PAYER advocates...

NONE!!!

very telling...

[joeycola]

8. Some Dems in congress and the WH missed that.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. Union Station has lots of uses!

[DURHAM D]

3. And we listen to those old farts... Why? nt

[TankLV]

5. because it goes so well with the SMELL...

[pyoom]

6. Wow. Pretty much getting it wrong on every single point.

Brilliant.

[WinkyDink]

7. Whatever happened to plain old raising the income tax on upper-earners?

I don't like that camel's nose of taxing health benefits on anybody.
Unions have fought to get these benefits, often in compromise with less of a wage increase.

[flpoljunkie]

9. Bush tax cuts will expire. Obama still touting his 28% limit on itemized deductions to pay for

health care. Congress has a surtax in play--Pelosi suggested $500k for individual and $1 million surtax for joint filers (surtax would be paid on AGI over $500K and $1 million). There is also talk in the Senate Fiinance committee of taxing 'cadillac' plans beginning at about $25,000.

Charitable organizations screamed bloody murder at Obama's suggestion and Congress immediately ruled this out. Pelosi's suggestion may be the most politically palatable.

[Autumn]

10. Daschle ? Baker ? Dole ?

:wtf:Talk about opening your sandwich and finding a maggot. ugh. Why are these old has beens even involved ?

[Mystayya]

11. I'm really getting worried

Instead of being better off and getting to see a doctor it looks like I will be paying a fine for now buying insurance instead. Sigh. Thank you very much. I don't have much faith that they will somehow grow a spine in the next few weeks and do what is right. Honestly, if there is no good public option, what's the point? I mean beyond making the rich even richer.