See The White House's Health Industry Guest List

In addition to announcing that it will start releasing the names of White House visitors going forward, the Obama administration on Friday also released new details about recent visits by health industry executives.

Both actions were taken in response to Freedom of Information Act lawsuits filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

It's been known that health industry executives like Billy Tauzin and Karen Ignagni had visited the White House repeatedly, but we didn't always know who they were meeting with. The Excel spreadsheet released by the administration discloses who Tauzin et al met with on their visit.

"We're thrilled by the White House's decision to put all the records online and it's a great contribution," said CREW executive director Melanie Sloan.

CREW put together a more readable list, available here (PDF). Check it out:

Bill Tauzin (President and CEO, Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America):

• March 5 (meeting with president)
• May 19 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)
• June 2 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)
• June 24 (meeting with Clare Gallagher)
• July 7 (meeting with Jim Messina)

Karen Ignagni (President and CEO, America's Health Insurance Plans):

• March 5 (meeting with president)
• March 6 (meetings with Elizabeth Bafford and Larry Summers)
• March 11 (meeting with Jennifer Cannistra)
• June 30 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)
• July 24 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

Richard Umdenstock (President and CEO, American Hospital Ass'n.):

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• February 4 (meeting with Tina Tchen)
• February 23 (meeting with president)
• March 5 (meeting with president)
• March 25 (meeting with Jennifer Cannistra)
• March 30 (meeting with Ezekiel Emanuel)
• April 6 (meeting with Tina Tchen)
• May 22 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

J. James Rohack (President-elect, American Medical Ass'n.):

• March 25 (meeting with Ezekiel Emanuel)
• June 22 (meeting with president)
• June 24 (meetings with Clare Gallagher and president)

William Weldon (Chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson):

• May 12 (meeting with president)

Jeffrey B. Kindler (Chairman and CEO, Pfizer Inc.):

• March 5 (meeting with president)
• May 6 (meetings with Sarah Fenn and Elizabeth Bafford)
• June 2 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

Stephen J. Hemsley (President, CEO, Director, UnitedHealth Group, Inc.):

• May 15 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)
• May 22 (meeting with Peter Orszag)
• July 14 (meeting with Aneesh Chopra)

Angela Braly (President, CEO, Director, WellPoint, Inc.):

• February 13 (meeting with president)

George Halvorson (Chairman and CEO, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan):

• March 27 (meeting with Keith Fontenot)
• June 5 (meeting with Peter Orszag)
• July 23 (meeting with Kathleen Sibelius)
• July 24 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

Jay Gellert (President and CEO, Health Net, Inc.):

• February 10 (meeting with Tina Tchen)
• March 11 (meeting with Jennifer Cannistra)
• March 20 (meeting with Matt Flavin)
• July 24 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

Thomas Priselac (President and CEO, Cedars-Sinai Health System):

• April 3 (meeting with Ezekiel Emanuel)

Richard Clark (Chairman, President and CEO, Merck):

• March 24 (meeting with Ezekiel Emanuel)


Wayne T. Smith (Chairman, President and CEO, Community Health Systems):

• June 4 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

Rick Smith (Sr. Vice President, Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America):

• May 19 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)
• June 2 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)
• July 7 (meeting with Jim Messina)
• July 24 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

The White House's decision has been praised widely by good-government groups. Still, there are a few quibbles. The Sunlight Foundation noted that the White House has given itself some wiggle room and can redact names of certain guests, and that there could be a 90 to 120-day delay from the date of a visit to its disclosure in a monthly report.

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Comments

[balancedsolution]

Aneesh Chopra, are you kidding me?

What are they talking about Michael Jackson's healthcare!

How bout get Andrew Weil? or Dean Ornish? or forward thinking doctors!

I voted for Obama over the old guy and the beauty pageant lady. But i'll tell you what?

Sometimes ignorance is bliss.....

OBama is disappointing me. I wish he'd stop seeming like a movie star and start getting down to the hard work! This job is the hardest ever. It's not for egomaniacs. It's for people who know how to get stuff done!

[sueinmn]

Im still waiting for the list of tax evadors from UBS! Lets see names.

[ThyBard]

If someone expected something different than this...You should be ashamed for being so gullible!
Neophytes!
Of course its business as usual. It is a little more complex than "off with their heads" then throw a celebration festival. Of course Obama has to speak with these people but the question remains will He listen?
Its the Litmus Test: Will he support no public option?
Is so then YES< He threw the People under the Bus.

It should not surprise you when looking at the Brain Trust who surrounds him. The ultimate wheelers and dealers and they will wheel the People under the Bus for health care or Cap&Trade. Its about the money, honey.

Only the People can assure fairness. Banks? Energy Industry? He has done nothing BUT DEAL!!!

Suckers!

[medic628]

We are being thrown under the bus.

[Seattlelite]

Okay so they caved under pressure from the media and we now know who visited...­...and what is this list suppose to tell us without a transcript of those meetings? I'm sure the media will do a great job speculating for rating purposes.

[Luca Dello Iacovo]

I like it

[FessorFrink]

I do not think it is a shock that the administration saw lobbyists, in this case, top officials of companies, groups, or indsutry types. He campaigned more on lobbyists in the WH staff. That is where he had slipped early on. He had to make a few waivers of his rule. I am not sure how many, but there were some. The Federal Gov't is a big place. It's hard to fill without some former lobbyists. Remember how we were upset at all the former Clinton appointees, moderate to Conservative democrats being in the cabinet and other high office positions. This is the way he has chosen to go, like it or not, it is a reality we have to deal with. Every time a progressive issue is being compromised away, progressives have to call them out on it and try to move them back to the Democratic majority position. That's life when you have a Democratic President. When you have a Republican President we have absolutely no chance to affect policy.

[butonelife]

Wow. Change we can believe in, huh?

[Roberta]

Not one meeting with rural clinical groups, non-profit chains, patient advocacy groups, physician groups that support health reform or noted academics with outcome statistics that would help settle the case.

Until faction leaders raise a loud hue and cry about their exclusion - and people stand up for them - there will not be a decent resolution.

[listentome]

When some of you "just say no-ers" or "progressive independents" who are going to vote differently next election, start to wheel and deal and try to make things happen, then I will start listening to you. In the real world you have to deal or at least meet with all sorts of people to make things happen. Just because you are provided with a list of people in meetings does not give you a clue as to what was discussed or what, if any, deals were made. It just blows my mind how supposed intelligent people are provided with a corner piece of a puzzle think that they have solved the puzzle. The only thing that the President has proven is that being president "ain't" easy. You have to deal with all kinds of people just to make all kinds of people satisfied in the end.

[evekendall]

See the post by Roberta directly above yours. And, by the way, we already know what deals were made with Tauzin. Obama sold us out to big pharma.

[listentome]

Hello! He already knows where he stands with them. So, it makes sense to meet with those who are opposed to what you want. That's called making a deal.

[PaxEterna]

19 million dollars as a candidate, more than any other by a large margin.

[listentome]

And?

[Ventoi]

Quire is 24 or 25 sheets of paper.

...or another form of choir...

preachin to the choir is often used with preachin' to the converted.­..

the quire will already believe...­.

ie/ WE are not the issue here.

[Ventoi]

TAXI driver

[Ventoi]

My inner head was thinking get away WITH it...

[Ventoi]

SURE...the­y could call it B14INTRAME­CURIUMFEUN­A

and get away from it...

they have done so most likely for many things...

not these three diseases..­.

why...

because water into wine is not enough...