From Ellen Schaffer on the Latest Healthcare Legislation

From Ellen Schaffer of Equal comes this important info today:

Three main story lines of interest today:

 

1.)   The Roll-Out of the House "Affordable Health Care for America Act" and all that surrounds it.

 

2.)   Frank Luntz is back with a new "How to kill health care while pretending to be in favor of fixing health care Memo" -  Get ready to hear and read the below language over and over again by "Frank's Marionettes" in Congress and FoxNews.  The fact that certain members of Congress have absolutely no interest in addressing this issue and have NO SOLUTIONS OF THEIR OWN does not seem to matter to Frank.  Truth be dammed.. just repeat after me...

 

"Americans are telling us that they want real solutions for the healthcare crisis in America… but they are also telling us there is a difference between the RIGHT and the WRONG way to reform healthcare. The RIGHT way is for our leaders to prioritize spending and be careful with taxpayer dollars. The WRONG way is for Washington to raise taxes still higher and dig our debt still deeper just to pay for more wasteful programs that don't work today and won't work tomorrow. The RIGHT way is for us to protect and expand the doctor-patient relationship. We must embrace an approach to healthcare that puts patients first, before profits and politics. The WRONG way is to allow a Washington takeover of healthcare. It's no solution at all to simple replace the insurance bureaucrats who stand between patients and doctors with government bureaucrats. We must reject and overcome any attempts that just recreate the same problems already in the system and then amplify those problems."

 

3.) Yanks right the ship with a  3-1 win to tie the World Series up one game a piece.

 

1.)   The Roll-Out:

 

House Democrats on Thursday closed in on the votes they need to pass sweeping healthcare legislation, as party leaders introduced a 1,990-page bill designed to guarantee near-universal coverage for the first time in the nation's history.  The legislation, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) officially unveiled in a ceremony outside the Capitol, represents a milestone for Democrats and advocacy groups. After more than half a century of pushing to create a government healthcare safety net, Democrats are poised to bring a bill to the House floor next week. The full Senate will probably take up its version by the end of the year. LA Times by Noam N. Levey and Janet Hook

 

The CBO Score:

 

The Congressional Budget Office said the House bill would provide coverage to 36 million people. By the most commonly used yardstick, the bill would cost $1.05 trillion over 10 years, roughly $150 billion more than President Obama had said he wanted to spend on the legislation. Even so, the budget office said that the costs would be fully offset by cuts in the growth of Medicare and by new fees and taxes on individuals, families and businesses. Thus, it said, the bill would reduce projected federal budget deficits by $104 billion over 10 years... The budget office said 18 million people — one-third of them illegal immigrants — would still be uninsured in 2019. In the decade after that, it said, the House bill "would slightly reduce federal budget deficits." NY Times - Robert Pear

 

An analysis of the House bill released late Thursday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that 6 million people would choose a public plan, making it a relatively small player, despite the issue's outsize role in the health-care debate. - Washington Post - Shailagh Murray and Lori Montgomery

 

AND

 

There was a lot of confusion Thursday when the CBO released its cost estimate for the House bill. Democrats had said earlier in the day that the bill would cost $894 billion — just under the $900 billion limit set by President Barack Obama. But in the CBO analysis, there were two price tags: a net cost of $894 billion and a gross cost of just over $1 trillion. Both numbers are correct, but Democrats shifted the terms of the debate and cherry-picked the lower one. Politico by Carrie Budoff Brown and Patrick O'Connor

 

The Attacks:

 

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) derided the bill's 1,990 pages as 620 pages longer than President Bill Clinton's failed reform plan 15 years ago. The conservative Republican Study Committee warned of "higher taxes, job-killing employer mandates, choice-restricting individual mandates, government-run insurance, budget-busting entitlement expansions, and countless provisions that set Washington bureaucrats firmly between you and your doctor."  Washington Post - Shailagh Murray and Lori Montgomery

 

AND

 

The House bill would result in "increasing healthcare costs for families and employers across the country and significantly disrupting the quality coverage on which millions of Americans rely today," said Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans.The Hill by Jeffrey Young

 

AND

 

"We continue to oppose the approach the House is taking," said Ken Johnson, senior vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). The House bill, he said, "contains a number of problematic provisions for seniors, patients and the continued development of new therapies." The Hill by Jeffrey Young

 

Come Together:

 

Though the threats show that House Democrats remain divided on key issues, both liberal and centrist Democrats emerged from a morning caucus meeting ebullient that a healthcare bill finally seems within reach. The Hill by Jared Allen and Mike Soraghan

 

AND

 

For the past few days, the story line on the House health care bill has been simple: Nancy Pelosi couldn't deliver for the liberals. Not enough votes for the "robust" public option. That's true — as far as the public option goes. But in reality, the bill she unveiled Thursday includes big pieces of what the most liberal members of her party wanted — most likely setting up a serious battle when negotiators try to merge it with the far more moderate Senate legislation. Politico by Carrie Budoff Brown and Patrick O'Connor

 

The Timing:

 

Democrats indicated that debate on the bill will start late next week. They need to wait at least six days to live up to their promises to give lawmakers and the public time to read the bill. The bill rolled out Thursday will be up for three days, after which leaders will introduce a tweaked final version, called the "managers amendment." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the earliest a House vote could occur would be next Thursday. The Hill by Jared Allen and Mike Soraghan

 

Industry Opposition:

 

Business groups blasted the House healthcare bill released Thursday, and a key trade association for doctors declined to endorse it. Health insurance and pharmaceutical industries that take hard hits from the bill also took shots, saying it would drive up costs for seniors and companies alike. Organizations representing employers remain deeply concerned about the bill's mandate for employers to provide insurance, the public insurance option and the income surtax on people earning more than $500,000. A coalition of big-business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and the National Association of Manufacturers, issued a letter opposing the House bill outright. - The Hill by Jeffrey Young

 

AND

 

The House health-care bill presents more problems for drug makers than legislation in the Senate, but it gives the medical-device industry better breaks.  The variations in the bills underscore why health-care companies have been lobbying vigorously on Capitol Hill. Billions of dollars are at stake, depending on which version is adopted - Wall Street Journal by ALICIA MUNDY

 

2.)   Frank is Back:  This stuff is so jaded it is hard to believe this guy can say it with a straight face.  

 

Frank Luntz of The Word Doctors was at the Capitol this week to brief Republican lawmakers on his new plan for undermining Democrats' health-reform without making the GOP look bad. Party sources provided Pulse with his 8-page playbook: "You STILL need to acknowledge the need for reform. ... Public anger is REAL (note to certain media outlets & bloggers who will eventually savage this memo: the town hall phenomenon is NOT manufactured). ... offer 'a better approach.' ... Barack Obama is right: what Americans want is a solution, not continued political bickering. And what your 'solution' must provide is, in a word, more: 'more access to more treatments and more doctors…with less interference from insurance companies and Washington politicians and special interests.' ... 'Bipartisanship' is what Americans want from Washington when it comes to healthcare. Here, the GOP needs to make a much greater effort. Once you've articulated the goal of bipartisanship, it is fair game (and according to our polling, supported by independents) to level a sharper attack on those who control Congress: 'The Democratic Party controls a 77 seat majority in the House and almost 20 seats in the Senate, along with the White House. If they cannot get a bill passed with such overwhelming control of Washington, it says there's something wrong with the legislation. Rather than forcing a bill through with only limited support, they should keep working until they can get a bill that represents the opinions of most Americans." - Politico Pulse

Read the Memo Here

 

 

CLIPS FROM THE PRESS

 

NYT ED BOARD LIKES IT: "The Senate should pay attention to the health care reform bill unveiled on Thursday by House Democratic leaders. The bill would greatly expand coverage of the uninsured while reducing budget deficits over the next decade and probably beyond. It includes a public option that is weaker than we would like, but it still deserves to be approved by the House. … The bill would take a long stride toward universal coverage while remaining fiscally responsible. Senate leaders should try to do as well." 
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KRUGMAN SEES HISTORY BREWING: "O.K., folks, this is it. It's the defining moment for health care reform. … Everyone in the political class — by which I mean politicians, people in the news media, and so on, basically whoever is in a position to influence the final stage of this legislative marathon — now has to make a choice. The seemingly impossible dream of fundamental health reform is just a few steps away from becoming reality, and each player has to decide whether he or she is going to help it across the finish line or stand in its way. … For this is the moment of truth. The political environment is as favorable for reform as it's likely to get. The legislation on the table isn't perfect, but it's as good as anyone could reasonably have expected. History is about to be made — and everyone has to decide which side they're on." 
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SENATE SHOULD OPT-OUT OF THE OPT-OUT says WaPo's Broder: "Consider the precedent that would be set if a major piece of social legislation were to be passed with a states' rights provision. … The principle behind almost all liberal legislation is that there are certain values fundamental enough that they should be enforceable at the national level, even if a significant minority of voters or a certain number of states disagree. … I'm not entirely convinced that the public option is as essential as liberals seem to think it is. But if they are right, I don't see how they can justify abandoning it for an uncertain number of people who have the bad luck to live in states with conservative governors and legislatures. If a compromise is needed to get the bill to the Senate floor, far better to try Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe's suggestion of a trigger mechanism that would activate a public option if private insurance policies at affordable rates were not broadly available. No one should be denied coverage options by virtue of where they live."

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House Democrats Unveil Health Care Overhaul NPR

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday unveiled details of a health care bill that Democrats say would extend insurance coverage to 36 million more Americans and outlaw exclusions for pre-existing conditions and that includes a public option.

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House Democrats Unveil Health Care Bill USA Today

A landmark health care bill crafted by House Democratic leaders underscores the challenges lawmakers in Congress continue to face as they race to finish work on President Obama's top domestic priority by the end of the year.

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No 'Robust' Public Option In House Healthcare Reform Bill Christian Science Monitor

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced a $894 billion healthcare bill Wednesday that appears to have enough Democratic support to pass. The deal followed weeks of intense negotiation among strong factions within the Democratic majority, Democratic leaders, and the White House. In the end, compromises to limit the scope of a government run public option to compete with private insurers shifted momentum on the bill.

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Health Care Businesses At Risk In House Overhaul AP

The health care overhaul bill produced by House Democrats would impose an array of new taxes, fees and government mandates on major players in the health industry, including insurers, doctors and drugs and medical devices makers.

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A Senate Naysayer, Spoiling For Health Care Fight NY Times

Senator Tom Coburn's office is the rare Capitol Hill work space without a "me wall" — the display of photographs of a lawmaker standing beside presidents, foreign leaders and other dignitaries, all illustrating How Big a Deal he is.