Obama Calls Into Health Care Negotiations

The phone rang toward the end of Max Baucus' meeting Tuesday night: It was President Obama.

Obama has been pushing for a health care bill before Congress takes off next month, and Sen. Baucus (D-Mont.) has taken heat from reform advocates while his Senate Finance Committee remains the prime obstacle to a final vote in the upper chamber. On the phone, however, Obama's direct involvement in the committee's negotiations left Baucus feeling "very comforted," the senator said.

"It was a very amicable, warm conversation. We talked a little bit about how to get to yes," said Baucus, who refuses to set a date for the end of negotiations among his self-styled "coalition of the willing" -- Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).

Baucus said Obama offered no concerns regarding the timetable.

"He didn't express a view on that one way or the other, nor did he imply it. He just asked how we're coming along," Baucus said. "I explained, he says 'Great, sounds like you're moving along.'"

The president did discuss some policy specifics, Baucus said, but he declined to elaborate beyond deeming the conversation "very constructive." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

One proposal did gain Baucus' public consideration, though not support, after the meeting: A compromise proposal from Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) that would place an excise tax on health insurance providers' high-cost plans. The goal is to motivate insurers to lower premiums and the overall cost of coverage. It's unclear if the plan would pass White House muster -- it could be seen as a backdoor method of taxing benefits, which Obama has ruled off the table, though Conrad continues to fight for it.

"That's one idea that's on the table. We're looking at it, among many, but it's one idea that I think merits consideration," Baucus said. "I think that would help, but I don't want to get into specifics at this point, because you never know where we're going to end up. I don't want to lead people astray."

The Tuesday afternoon meeting benefited from the input of Tom Barthold, chief of staff for the Joint Committee on Tax, who Baucus said lent his expertise to the debate on cost offsets. Barthold will rejoin the committee members when they resume their debate Wednesday morning, Baucus said.

"He was very helpful. It gave the senators I think a very high level of comfort and better understanding," Baucus said Tuesday night. "It's very comforting to ask questions and get some answers."

Exiting the meeting, Conrad was less -- or possibly more -- forthcoming. "I have nothing new to add," he said. "Honestly, I just have nothing to add. It's a continuation of what we talked about earlier."

Comments

[Swift2]

04:26 AM on 07/28/2009

So, how did so many corporate piggy Dems get on one committee? Oh, right. It's the U.S. Senate. As long as you run in what the Brits call "rotten boroughs," where all you need is to get a few million from corporate hounds (they're a much cheaper buy than Senators in populous states), you can pretend to love the people, screw them, and retire like Billy Tauzin and get millions as a "health lobbyist." Baucus and Conrad et al. have staked out a lucrative career path, all right.

[RightsGuy]

12:36 AM on 07/23/2009

THE LATEST FIGURES:

Despite the trials and tribulations of the past year, the health insurance executives are still raking in MILLIONS of dollars at the end of the day. This is a look at some of the top total compensation packages from 2008 based on information gathered from the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission.

1. Ron Williams, Aetna - $24.3 million

2. H. Edward Hanway, CIGNA - $12.2 million

3. Angela Braly, WellPoint - $9.8 million

4. Dale Wolf, Coventry Health Care - $9 million

5. Michael Neidorff, Centene - $8.8 million

6. James Carlson, AMERIGROUP - $5.3 million

7. Michael McCallister, Humana - $4.8 million

8. Jay Gellert, Health Net - $4.4 million

9. Richard Barasch, Universal American - $3.5 million

10. Stephen Hemsley, UnitedHealth Group - $3.2 million

– adapted from a Special Report by Dan Bowman
http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/special-reports/total-package-health-plan-ceo-compensations-2008

Only a single-payer approach to healthcare reform will END THE INHUMANITY OF OUR FAILED HEALTHCARE INSURANCE SYSTEM, WHERE PROFITS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PATIENTS’ HEALTH, and where people die because of it.

We need to get the insurance companies OUT of healthcare. Our fight for equal access to healthcare for all is about democracy, human rights, civil rights, and basic human decency.

[RightsGuy]

12:45 AM on 07/23/2009

Here's some math: $24m for Aetna CEO = 160 internists @ $150,000/yr. So why isn't Obama pushing for single payer ?

[CherokeeGirl]

03:27 PM on 07/22/2009

I just remembered, back in the 90's when my cobra ran out, I applied with Blue Cross or Blue Shield or both. I was too honest, and under current medical conditions, I wrote "neck pain".

I WAS DENIED

Then they sent me a letter that they would insure me for $1000 a month! That was over 10 years ago.

The JIGGS UP!

[TylerRose]

01:27 PM on 07/22/2009

There is going to be a single-payers health insurance rally in Washington D.C. on July 30 for all who wants to go or help others go to speak for you. Link:

http://www.healthcare-now.org/campaigns/single-payer-rally/

It is obvious that Congress is not acting on behalf of the American people and is using their elected power to pander to the rich insurance companies and fight against the President for political points so we, the American people, need to remind all of them who they work for - US!!!! Spread the word.

[Peter007]

12:39 PM on 07/22/2009

We should go back to the health care system we had 60 years ago. Costs were low and people could afford it.
Since then, laws have been passed which allows for certain people to get free health care. That raises rates for people with insurance.
Insurance companies have been writing health insurance laws for decades.
Require that Insurance companies approve of a doctors recommendations and require that they pay a doctor within 30 days of filing a claim.
Limit a doctors liability to a reasonable level.

[smchp]

01:01 PM on 07/22/2009

So you want nurses making 50cents an hour and doctors making $1? Brilliant idea. You should win the nobel prize.

[Maka]

12:07 PM on 07/22/2009

"He didn't express a view on that one way or the other, nor did he imply it. He just asked how we're coming along," Baucus said.

That line is hilarious. The call alone was an implication. Of course there's politics involved with this whole thing. Hello, Baucus? Anyone home?

[Roguewolf]

11:45 AM on 07/22/2009

A telling episode recounted by Senate Finance ranking member Charles Grassley reveals the Obama administration might be more worried than they are letting on that a Republican senator's comparison of the healthcare overhaul to Waterloo might be dangerously close to the truth.

Grassley said he spoke with a Democratic House member last week who shared Obama's bleak reaction during a private meeting to reports that some factions of House Democrats were lining up to stall or even take down the overhaul unless leaders made major changes.

"Let's just lay everything on the table," Grassley said. "A Democrat congressman last week told me after a conversation with the president that the president had trouble in the House of Representatives, and it wasn't going to pass if there weren't some changes made ... and the president says, 'You're going to destroy my presidency.' "

President Barack Obama on Monday shot back at Republicans who have suggested they can win political ground by opposing his healthcare reform proposals.
"This isn't about me. This isn't about politics. This is about a health care system that is breaking America's families, breaking America's businesses, and breaking America's economy," Obama said on a visit to a Washington hospital.

[RightsGuy]

12:39 AM on 07/23/2009

SENATOR GRASSLEY (R-IOWA) IS WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH BAUCUS TO BLOCK SINGLE PAYER AND EVEN A PUBLIC OPTION. Grassley is an important player in healthcare reform as he’s the senior Republican member of the Senate Finance Committee.

Senator Grassley has taken a lot of money the pharmaceutical industry and the health insurance industry over the years. Yet he launches witch-hunts against others for doing the same. POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK? Is this why he is blocking single-payer healthcare reform from even being on the table—because he’s in the pockets of the industry? Of course.

According to OpenSecrets.org from 2003 – 2008 alone, Senator Grassley has taken donations from:
The Insurance Industry: $643,643
Health Professionals $812,077
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products Industry $352,222
Hospitals/Nursing Homes $288,895
Health Services/HMOs $245,416

THAT’S A GRAND TOTAL OF: $2,342,253.

GRASSLEY’S 2ND HIGHEST CONTRIBUTOR IS BLUE CROSS / BLUE SHIELD.

Grassley refuses to put aside the profits of the industries that have kept him in the Senate. He, Baucus, and other legislators put the profits of their contributors ahead of Americans’ health and lives .

It is time to remove Grassley from his “leadership” of health care reform, and to vote him OUT of office.

[rollingdivision]

11:41 AM on 07/22/2009

Most members of Congress who oppose these health care bills argue they have a better way of reforming health care, such as the Ryan-Coburn bill. Why is it fair to accuse them of defending the status quo? Can you name a Member of Congress who has explicitly argued for the status quo, rather than just arguing against your preferred alternative?

[cbates]

10:51 AM on 07/22/2009

No body likes seeing sausage being made and boy doesn't it taste good. Let the process work as intended by the founders and at the end we all will see what is delivered for consumption. If we like it good if not tweak the process. Why the media has to make this a boxing match who knows, maybe they need are still living under the concept of scoop the other reporter so let us sensationalize. We need a chance to measure our representatives in this process not how Obama is doing because he has set the process in motion and is trying to keep it moving for our benefit in the end, I hope.

[medicinecat]

09:49 AM on 07/22/2009

A phone call? Mr. President, you need to go there in person wearing boxing gloves to whup Mr. Baucus' butt into line. Call it "The Rumble in the Rotunda".

[mitsie]

09:11 AM on 07/22/2009

What in heck is the writer of this article talking about final vote? That's not true, they will pass the final bill out to the floor for discussion. All the President wants them to do, is get it out of committee and scheduled for discussion, final revision then a vote.

[seanseamour]

01:36 AM on 07/22/2009

I suggest all look at the Washington Post article on homepage, in it quoted is Wendell Potter, an industry insider who found his conscience, a most enlightening interview with him can be found here: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch2.html
This is all and only about dollars, the lack of a humanitarian dimension is unbecoming of our society, here again we have drifted away from core community values, another enlightening example is Robert Reich' interview by Bill Moyers in which he coined "capitalism has swamped democracy" http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/06122009/watch.html
Only grass roots support will bend the sold out Baucus's to the majority wish for a single payer system, Obama's plan is the first step in that direction - lets be heard

[par5]

01:27 AM on 07/22/2009

Like Pres. Obama or not, we all must admit that he does not have the political, business or life experiences to be an expert in healthcare, banking and finance, auto industry, and energy. Basically, he's a lawyer and legislator with a strong background in education and social justice. This is why he should have been VP to Mrs. Clinton for 8 years.

But here he is, racing through the implementation of his agenda, acting like his ideas are infallible in these crucial, consequential areas of domestic policy.

SLOW DOWN! We are betting the economic future of our country - and we're going "all in" with a man with good intentions and lots of confidence - but unproven ability to get results. Let's see if his decisions on the Stimulus and GM / Chrysler result in improved economy and employment before we experiment with cap and trade and public health plan

Pres Obama lacks the experience of most presidents before him. He should recognize this and take the time to mature in office.

[MAH999]

02:06 AM on 07/22/2009

Sometimes it's just amazing to hear the way people are thinking. Clinton lost because people knew her and weren't entirely comfortable with her. Enough so that they changed directions and went with the chance of change. I don't think any of our presidents meet your bar of experience in such a wide span of industries. We who voted for Obama, at least the ones I know, did so because we wanted to hope for a way out of the repetition of failed policies in our relationship to the world, our economic policies, the whole span of life that has been so well-handled in the last 30 years.We wanted someone who understood in a fundamental way, that the world already changed. We aren't holding it back. It's happened. While we fight regional battles, the world is engaged in global enterprise. I don't expect Obama to succeed at everything. But I'm glad to see him trying. If he can turn this Queen Mary that is our country, just only a silly milemeter toward sustainability, peace, and sanity, he'll be success enough in my book. I'm rooting for the American people to join together and hope he succeeds, and we succeed together. But then I read something like this and shake my head.

[Chaimirija]

10:19 AM on 07/22/2009

as I recall, many did not like her plan for an individual mandate...which BO specifically was oppposed to.

[mitsie]

09:17 AM on 07/22/2009

Oh come on now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This President has more knowledge and education then most Presidents. The same old retoric is coming out of all of you. BTW we have had a deficit since the 60's and America is still here even though people were saying the same type thing. Our kids are doing just fine thank you, and they grew up in the 60's. In action is not the answer, public option is. We don't need to slow down, things in Washington go slow enough. I take it you have no relatives who have no health insurance and their access to medical care is limited. Trying to decide to take a family member who is ill to the emergency room or not, because of the high costs. I have these situations in my own family, and can't believe my fellow Americans can be so cold.

[rsprags]

12:48 AM on 07/22/2009

Please go to MSNBC and vote favorably for President Obama for his handling of the economy; repurgs and doubting demos/ or indep are killing us in the poll:

http://www.newsvine.com/_question/2009/07/21/3045684-do-you-think-the-country-is-headed-in-the-right-direct

[KnowzyRowzy]

09:40 AM on 07/22/2009

Can't do it....

[hmldjr]

11:46 AM on 07/22/2009

i just voted for Obama. But these polls really mean nothing usually the only ones who vote in them are old retirees whose minds are locked in the 1950's.

[Clayton139]

11:09 PM on 07/21/2009

FYI: Good Quality Progressive Health Care - HOLD-UP ??!

The GOP-Republicans are NOT the only ones in Bed with the health & insurance interests !

The Moderate Democrat's on the Fence to Vote for the (One Payer Public Plan) and the WHY OR WHY NOT ??! They are getting Millions from the Health and Insurance Interests also ~!
How many more Democrats are getting Millions to (Put Our Health On SALE) for their own interests !

Look at the Money these Democrats receive: Senator Max Baucus Total from health & insurance interests: $3,973,485, Senator Evan Bayh: - $1,565,088, Senator Kent Conrad - $2,154,200, Senator Dianne Feinstein - $1,749,887, Senator John Kerry - $8,994,077, Senator Mary Landrieu - $1,653,943, Senator Joe Lieberman - $3,308,621, Senator Ben Nelson - $2,214,715 ~!!!

[Michaela1976]

11:15 PM on 07/21/2009

Yes and they will continue to collect their money from the health industry after they kill health care.

[RegLib]

11:25 PM on 07/21/2009

And why the %^&$% do these people get to be called "moderate Democrats"? "Neo-Dixiecrats" would be a much better name for them.