Senate Finance Holds Last of Health Care Roundtables - Live Now

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http://cspan.org/

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1. List of witnesses...

http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing051209.html

Roundtable Discussion on “Financing Comprehensive Health Care Reform”

May 12 , 2009, at 10:00 a.m., in 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building


Member Statements:
Max Baucus, MT
Charles Grassley, IA




Witness Statements:

Stuart H. Altman, Ph.D., Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy, HellerSchool for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA

Joseph R. Antos, Ph.D., Wilson H. Taylor Scholar in Health Care and Retirement Policy, American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC

Katherine Baicker, Ph.D., Professor of Health Economics, Harvard School of Public Health, Cambridge, MA

Leonard Burman, Ph.D., Director, Tax Policy Center, Urban Institute, Washington, DC

Robert Greenstein, Ph.D., Executive Director, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Washington, DC

Jonathan Gruber, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D., Executive Director, The Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington, DC

James A. Klein, President, American Benefits Council, Washington, DC

Edward Kleinbard, Chief of Staff, Joint Committee on Taxation, Washington, DC

Gerald M. Shea, Assistant to the President for Governmental Affairs, AFL-CIO, Washington, DC

John Sheils, Senior Vice President, The Lewin Group, Falls Church, VA

Gail Wilensky, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Project HOPE, Bethesda, MD

Steven Wojcik, Vice President of Public Policy, National Business Group on Health, Washington, DC

Additional witnesses may be added at a later date.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. That's one damned suspicious witness list

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7. They have all been suspicious :( n/t

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2. Baucus - 'the government foregoes 300 billion per year in

revenues by exempting the HC benefits'

[rateyes]

3. Does Baucus want to tax HC benefits?

Just whose side is he on?

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4. He opened the discussion stating that we need to keep an open mind

then went on to say that they would not excluse the benefit...in total.

:shrug:

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6. Fourth protestor removed. n/t

[mikelgb]

8. yay! CLOSED HEARINGS TO FIX HEALTHCARE

no objections

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9. Three closed hearings - 2 in May, 1 in June n/t

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10. James A. Klein against taxing HC benefits, Jonathan Gruber, Ph.D

disagrees, it is exactly the place to go.

http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing051209.html

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11. Gruber on taxing HC benefits we need a phase in period and

also need to make available another option where people can purchase insurance away from their employers.

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12. Baucus - 'to be honest I do not think we will repeal the exclusion'

for HC benefits.

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13. Nelson asks then what do you do - Baucus you can modify it. nt

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14. Gerald M. Shea - if we are going to have a radical change then

SP is the way to go!

[jocapo]

15. Additional hearings are needed!

Although it's disappointing that these hearings have excluded any discussion about Single Payer or a Public Plan, there must be a Committee Chairperson that would be willing to hold hearings that would include them. I think it's a ironic that these hearings are being held by the Finance Committee because it seems like the wrong committee. If we are interested in true reform (single payer!) we need a platform (megaphone?!) to get our message out. Are there any Single Payer advocates that are Committee Chairs? Who are they?

[JimWis]

16. Baucus made the statement - "Single Payer would not work for

this country". Heard him say it a bit earlier. My questions would be to him - "OK - tell me why not?" The more I watch this thing, it seems to get more complicated as it goes. They are trying to come up with 10 ways from Sunday to be able to afford insuring everybody. How about something simple. Get rid of the insurance companies. Several of the the panel feel that the insurance company's promises (from yesterdays meeting with the president) to cut cost over the next 10 years will never happen. Interesting.

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17. When Shea mentioned SP Baucus shot it down pretty quick....

"The more I watch this thing, it seems to get more complicated as it goes."

I was only able to watch the beginning, but I had the same impression. Modify the tax deduction for HC benefits, possibly with an income cap and then maybe phase in more taxes, alcohol tax etc.

They are trying everything to keep company profits in healthcare.

:(

[WeDidIt]

18. PREDICTION: ...

Thsi bullshit will lead to 65 million uninsured people in the U.S.

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19. Hope you are wrong :) nt