Feels Like Home

Some people find Manhattan overwhelming. They think the big city's too much - too fast, too crowded, too packed with sights and sounds. I'm just the opposite. Even when I came to NYC as a kid, it felt right. It's why I moved here when I could for the first time about a decade ago, and it's why every time I come back, I reconnect with a part of my psyche that basks in the unconventionality and the chaos.

It'd be tough to set up shop here again without the financial means to maintain the lifestyle to which I've grown accustomed (read: living in an apt larger than a teacup), but given the chance to be here more often than I have in the past couple of years, I'd take it. No doubt. It's great to be back.

Our Health Care System at Work (or not)

I woke up this morning with a lousy sore throat, and since I have to travel for work this afternoon, I thought it might be a good idea to get in and see a doctor as soon as possible. I left a message for my primary - who failed to call me back - and when I called again to see about a quick appointment sometime this morning, I was told she couldn't make time. I actually think the receptionist said she "had a lunch."

My second step was to call my obgyn (whom I adore and whose office is always helpful) for a recommendation for another primary on short notice. And you know what they did? They recognized the urgency of my request and offered to make time a little later this morning. I didn't know that was an option, but I'm glad it is.

There is something inherently wrong with not being able to get in and see a doctor when you need it most. How do you know when you are going to get sick? You don't. I'm grateful for physicians who see the reality and are willing to work around it, but this is just one more reason why we need reform. Stat.

postscript: The irony of the whole scenario though is that I'm off to NYC this afternoon to meet with health care providers tied into HCAN, and now I'm scrambling to see a doctor so I can go speak to a group of doctors. It feels a little bit like cleaning the house before the housekeeper comes.

Bad Sex

Call me a traitor to my gender, but I DVRed the Sex and the City movie over the weekend, and the first 34 minutes were enough to make me embarrassed to be a woman.

In Writing

We all know health insurance companies refuse coverage or hike up rates based on pre-existing conditions they themselves define. A write in The Miami Herald from over the weekend points to underwriting guidance manuals available online which show you can be rejected for everything from pregnancy to severe acne. The article also talks about data mining for prescriptions and how insurance companies can keep track of what you take and then say yes or no based on medications too. Pages 30-32 of the Vista guide detail that company's list of what gets automatically declined.

And these are the same people asking us to trust them when it comes to health care reform.

Are We There Yet?

I'm very antsy today. We should have had class outside.

Anyway, there's this bizarre coalition that a couple of our partners pulled out of earlier this month. It's called the Health Reform Dialogue, and today, it announced it has come to a consensus on reform.

Yeah, not so much. As Richard points out in our official statement:

“After months of discussions the groups that remained in the Health Reform Dialogue could not agree on the tough decisions that Congress and the President must make,” said Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Manager for Health Care for America Now. “They didn’t answer whether employers will be required to provide or help pay for coverage. They didn’t answer whether insurance companies will be allowed to hike rates on businesses when an employee gets sick or charge more for people who are older or women. Will Americans be guaranteed good, affordable health coverage or be stuck with high-deductible, bare-bones plans? Will we have a choice of private or public health insurance plans? By failing to address these crucial questions, they’ve moved the health care debate forward a few inches. In the next few months, Congress and the President will need to go the full mile.”

My favorite quote from the Health Reform Dialogue release comes from the health insurance lobby (emphases mine):

“The contributions from each stakeholder in the Health Reform Dialogue over the past six months have forged a consensus that the time for health care reform is now.”
--Karen Ignagni, president & CEO, America’s Health Insurance Plans

Wow. That's quite an accomplishment. Good thing we took a gamble and used it in our name.

Speaking of HCAN, I've got one last conference call and then I am going to try and sneak out before anyone notices I've made the great escape. Have an excellent weekend.

Happy Hours

When it's this gorgeous outside, there ought to be a law that no one's allowed to work, and end of the week patio beverage consumption must commence earlier than usual.

Much earlier.

Who's with me?

Mixed Messages

They were selling Girl Scout Cookies at the gym tonight.

Front and (sort of) Center

That's Jason - our Deputy Online Campaigns Manager - in the light blue shirt sitting right behind President Obama. Jason's the brain behind most of our HCAN blog posts.



This screengrab is from CNN.com because they had the best shot of Jason, but you can also watch the Online Town Hall live on the White House website here.

UPDATE: Here's another shot of JRo courtesy of John:

On Location

I've got to do a little scouting this morning. I've been asked to see about an outdoor spot for our big June mobilization here in DC. The goal is to get a sense of layout and take some pictures.

Slight bummer it's raining for the first time in weeks.

One For The Road

HCAN made the NYT today too:

Richard J. Kirsch, the national campaign manager of Health Care for America Now, a consumer group, said: “If the goal is to make insurance affordable, the latest concession does not go far enough. Insurance companies should also be prohibited from setting rates based on age or sex, and the rating reforms should apply to small businesses as well as individuals.”

Not What It Seems

AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association sent a letter to Senators Grassley, Baucus, Enzi, and Kennedy yesterday saying, "we believe that we could guarantee issue coverage with no pre-existing condition exclusions and phase out the practice of varying premiums based on health status in the individual market." The first part of this is not new. The second is, but while it seems like a significant concession, it's not.

Here's why. The rest of the letter goes on to read, "While we support transitioning to a reformed system in which health-status-based rating is no longer used, rating flexibility based on age, geography, family size, and benefit design is needed to maintain affordability."

See what they did there? They're not going to charge you more if you're sick, but they must continue to charge you more if you're older, live in a certain area, have a large or small family, or need certain benefits. They also fail to mention gender, and women pay a lot more for health care coverage than men - especially women of child-bearing age.

So the so-called concession actually gives nothing away. Richard commented on the letter and AHIP's latest shell game in several spots. In the AP:

"If the goal is to make health care affordable, this concession does not go far enough," said Richard Kirsch, campaign manager for Health Care for America Now. "It still allows insurers to charge much more if you are old." His group, backed by unions and liberals, is trying to build support for sweeping health care changes.

In Politico:

Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager for Health Care for America Now, a liberal advocacy group, wasn't sold on the proposal. He said the industry offer contains loopholes.

The insurers said in the letter that they would still charge different premiums based on such factors as age, place of residence, family size and benefits package.

“They are making as minor a concession as they can to have a monopoly on health care,” Kirsch said. “This shows how desperate they are to try to stop reform that significantly changes how they do business.”

In the LA Times:

Richard Kirsch, who heads Healthcare For Americans Now[sic], a leading consumer group in Washington, blasted the letter as cynical ploy.

"It's a sign of their desperation," said Kirsch. "They are still looking to find out how they can charge us as much as they want and have no competition from a public plan."

Here's a great summary write from CJR on the insurance industry. Trudy Lieberman both references Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik and is skeptical herself:

An extreme makeover for the insurance industry? Hiltzik, on the other hand, made clear that there was no makeover at all. His column dissected AHIP’s current positions compared to those it held in the past. After reading the trade association’s sixteen-page policy, Hiltzik concluded that “its version of ‘reform’ comprises the same wish list that the industry has been pushing for decades.”

UPDATE: Our official HCAN blogger Jason put up a great post on the latest insurance industry "concession." I recommend giving it a read.

Don't Mind Me

I just discovered my friend and coworker has a very cool blog focused on socially conscious travel. It's called The Mindful Tourist. It's relatively new, but when I actually have some time to travel outside the confines of DC, I'm totally scouring her archives for suggestions.

You Don't Say

Ronald A. Williams, the Chairman and CEO of Aetna Inc, just touted his company's transparency in the HELP committee hearing. He said you can go online to Aetna's website and find out the cost of tests and medical visits.

What he fails to mention is that you can't actually read this information unless you are already an Aetna member.

On Tap Today

We've got a fine selection of health care reform-related news for your consumption.

First, there's a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing going on right now called "Addressing Insurance Market Reform in National Health Reform". You can watch it live online here. The witness list is a little special interest heavy, but we shall see what comes out of the session.

In other sobering yet not surprising news from the AP:

The study for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that nearly 1 in 5 workers is uninsured, a statistically significant increase from fewer than 1 in 7 during the mid-1990s. The problem is cost. Total premiums for employer plans have risen six to eight times faster than wages, depending on whether individual or family coverage is picked, the study found.

And it's actually probably worse:

If anything, the situation for workers appears to be worse than is reflected in the report. It analyzed census data through 2007, the latest year available. But that was before the economy tumbled into recession.

Two other issues - HCAN in the WSJ:

Congress is poised for a battle over whether an ambitious health-care overhaul should include a new government-run health plan to compete with private companies in the effort to cover the uninsured.

The proposal for a public health plan inspires passion on both sides, as it gets to the heart of what government's role should be in the health-care system. Democrats typically see more government involvement as a good way to check the private sector and help control costs. Republicans fear the government will have unfair power over the market.

(...)

"The choice of a public health-insurance plan is an essential part of reform. It's one we're going to fight for through the end," said Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager for the liberal advocacy group Health Care for America Now.

And in Politico:

Health Care for America Now sent a letter Monday to budget committee chairmen and ranking Republicans, asking them to “protect health care reform from a filibuster by including in the budget resolution the option of using a budget reconciliation process for health care reform.”

The reconciliation process fast-tracks budget bills by lowering the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51 votes. It would lift the burden on Democrats to craft a bill that appeals to both parties.

Too Much Tweet

Does this happen a lot?

Catmouflage

Emmy's going to have to diet before bikini season.

Guilty (pleasure) As Charged

I watch Gossip Girl.

And I like it.

Cheesiness and all.

Go Thataway

Though some might suspect the contrary, I'm actually quite good at admitting when I don't know something. I'd rather fess up and learn than pretend and have to uncomfortably fudge my way through.

That said, I'm not weighing in on Geithner or Treasury or general economic plans because I haven't been paying close enough attention today to offer anything of substance.

You can rest assured I'll post an opinion if I've got one. But in the absence of anything to contribute, I direct you to more plugged in men and women than I for discussion and debate.

Taxing

My accountant lives in NY so we always do my taxes by phone. The past couple of years, he's run really behind schedule, and 9pm appointments have gotten pushed back to past 11pm.

This year, I figured I'd ask for a weekend afternoon spot so as not to risk having to get into the joy of taxes right before bed on a weeknight. My appointment was scheduled for 4pm today. I say was because my accountant's not picking up the phone.

I say this every year, but I really do need a new accountant.

Update: Too annoying. No one called me back until 5:30pm. I was out, and when I got in and called back, I was told the next available appointment is Thursday night at 10pm (which means I won't get to talk to the accountant until closer to 11pm). Even though I was here and on time, and even though the appointment had been booked for two weeks, the receptionist gave me attitude like it was my fault no one answered the phone when I called on time. Now it's probably too late to get all my documents back and get them over to someone new, but I'm definitely done with this guy after Thursday.

In The Red

MoveOn's new tomato toss is oddly therapeutic.

Apologies for not noting you prolly have to sign up to play. If you go through the email, that doesn't happen. My bad.

Not So Subtle

Morning. Hi. Totally happy it's Friday.

Got some HCAN news to report. We've debuted a TV ad that's going to run for four days in Iowa starting tomorrow. While it doesn't mention any particular Member of Congress by name, you can probably figure out the who and why behind the spot.

Need more? Here's part of the press release:

First, Senator Grassley signed on to a letter to President Obama earlier this month arguing against giving everyone the choice of a public health insurance plan, and then he stood up during the White House Summit’s Q&A session and reiterated his opposition. Just after President Obama said, “Every idea must be considered. Every option must be on the table,” Senator Grassley spoke out against giving everyone the choice of a public health insurance plan, preferring to deny his constituents in Iowa an alternative to private health insurance companies’ greed and bad practices.

The new TV ad called “Iowa Health Care Choice” was shot and produced in Iowa and features Des Moines, IA registered nurse Teresa Cooley reminding Iowans that private health insurance companies have been in control for too long, making decisions that doctors, nurses, and patients should be making for themselves. Cooley asks fellow Iowans to contact their Members of Congress and tell them they want the choice of a public health insurance plan.

Teresa's no actress. She's a nurse. So while the spot may not be slick, it's totally sincere. Take a look:

Mark My Words

Biggest viral video tomorrow will be the Michael Steele rap battle compilation that just aired on The Colbert Report.

Trust me. I know my Interwebs.

(Don't ask me why I'm still up. G'night.)

Update: Here's the video. The actual Steele rap starts at 4:00 in:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Michael Steele's Rap Battle Response
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Mark Sanford

One of Those Days

Ever been so busy that you think it's Friday, and when you come up for air, the thought that it's not Friday is seriously disturbing?

p.s. The lolcat has nothing to do with anything other than being slightly amusing, particularly because Emmy knocked a martini glass off my table last night and shattered the stem.

Draw whatever parallels you want. I'm too beat.

Potent Quotables

Sam Stein got the chance to interview Zeke Emanuel last week and now has the write up over at HuffPo. Clearly, being candid runs in the family. Here's Zeke when asked about the public health insurance plan option:

"I'm not talking about it." Pointing at the tape recorder on the desk, he adds, "You get paid for screwing me and I don't get paid for screwing myself."

Thank You

Much appreciation to those who've sent me kind words over the past week.

For the record, I threw a birthday party last October. It had a theme. Everyone wore something on his/her head. I had a fabulous furry pink hat. One friend donned her Burger King crown. There were ear muffs and homemade halos and oversized trucker caps. One brave soul even fashioned a topper out of a stuffed animal squirrel.

So yes, it could have been much much worse.

Earlier: Fear of a Pink Hat 3/16

Eye on Iowa

From an excellent editorial in the Des Moines Register calling out Senator Grassley's stand against giving everyone the choice of a public health insurance plan:

Myth No. 2: The private sector is the best solution.

Private insurance companies are beholden to stockholders and driven by profits. And it's not profitable to insure Americans with serious health problems, which leaves millions who have pre-existing conditions unable to buy affordable coverage in the private sector.

Government-run programs don't try to make money for shareholders. They don't pay big CEO salaries or dividends. And because seniors remain on Medicare for years, the government has an interest in improving quality of care - which doesn't exist in the private sector when Americans switch from plan to plan.

Medicare and Medicaid spend a fraction of what private companies do on administration.

After health-care reform efforts failed in the early 1990s during President Bill Clinton's administration, the so-called free market has been allowed to prove its worth. The result: Skyrocketing health-care costs and millions of Americans without health insurance.

Read the whole thing. It's worth it.

Also from the Register:

White House: Donations won't pay for health forum

Gov. Chet Culver’s office has dropped a plan to have health-care interest groups pay $5,000 apiece to “sponsor” a health-reform summit meeting in Des Moines next Monday.

(...)

Kate Walton, Culver’s top health-care adviser, sent an e-mail to health-care interests last Friday, asking them to help pay for the forum.

“We are hoping sponsors could participate at the $5,000 level, but are certainly open to discussion if that amount is in excess of what you are able to do, but you would still like to be included as a sponsor,” she wrote. “Event sponsors will be visibly acknowledged at the event, so we would appreciate you sharing your organization’s logo if you choose to participate.”

(...)

Here are the groups that the governor’s office said it solicited for donations to pay for a health-care summit in Des Moines:

AARP; American Cancer Society; Child and Family Policy Center; Delta Dental; Federation of Iowa Insurers; Greater Des Moines Partnership; Iowa Foundation for Medical Care; Iowa Health System; Iowa Hospital Association; Iowa Medical Society; Iowa Pharmacy Association; Mercy Medical Center; Principal Financial Group; Service Employees International Union; United Way of Central Iowa; University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics; Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

I hate to knock a Dem, but talk about tone deaf.

The Fight In the Man

Jonathan Cohn's got a great behind-the-scenes look at the battle to get health care in the budget. His conclusion:

Whatever the fate of health care reform, though, the debate does tell us something about the way Obama plans to manage his presidency. Obama has long struck many observers as an extremely cautious politician, and his handling of the banking crisis and the economic stimulus bill has tended to reinforce that perception. The trajectory of the health care debate inside his administration, however, suggests that Obama is not always as cautious as he might seem. He can think big. He can take risks. And he can bring his advisers to him--rather than the other way around.

Photo: White House Photo 1/29/09 by Pete Souza

Where There's Smoke

When did everyone in DC start smoking again? I was only out for an hour last night but had to toss everything in the wash when I got home.

My favorite had to be the self-proclaimed non-smoker who's been bumming cigarettes for 18 years. He snagged one from a mutual friend and then proceeded to light it up and suck it down like a fiend on a fix. He not only told me he's only purchased about a half dozen packs of smokes in his entire life (which makes him in denial and annoying), but he also shared that as a consultant, he's worked with the American Cancer Society and a prestigious group of cardiologists.

I suppose I don't mind if you want to smoke. I just don't like the smell of a phony.

Cool Invention Tuesday

My friend Jon discovered a gadget that lets everyone get in the picture. I'm not sure I'd advocate "shooting while bike riding," but here's more:

Facebooking the Truth

Chris used my favorite quote yet:

When it comes to health care reform, there has been a rift on the left between the single-payer and public-private advocates, so last week offered a rare opportunity to see both sides coming together in common cause: to bash insurance companies.

The two sides teamed up to protest a policy forum at a Washington Ritz-Carlton sponsored by America’s Health Insurance Plans, a national association representing more than 1,300 companies that provide health insurance.

But don’t expect a marriage anytime soon between the single-payer groups, which believe reforms short of abolishing health insurance companies will fail, and public-private supporters, which are pushing for tighter controls on insurance companies and the creation of a public insurance plan option.

“I’d say it was a concurrent event. It doesn’t mean there was any kind of merger there,” said single-payer advocate Chuck Idelson, spokesman for the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, the nation’s largest nurses union.

Public-private advocate Jacki Schechner of Health Care for America Now put it another way: “Let’s just say that if we were in a relationship, our Facebook status would be, ‘It’s complicated,’” she joked.

As for the insurance industry?

“We were really pleased that our policy conference brought people together from across the spectrum for a productive policy discussion,” AHIP spokesman Mike Tuffin said, noting that Republican Sen. Orrin G. Hatch and President Barack Obama’s budget director, Peter Orszag, both attended.

PayGone

I'll never forget the day Pseudo died. It was a Monday, and the CEO called the whole company up into the 6th floor studio. He said we'd run out of money, and save one last possible source that would be calling within the hour, the company would be closing its doors for good. The paycheck we'd gotten the Friday before would be the last salary we'd see.

The phone call came, and the answer was no. We all filtered out the back door and into the bar across the alley. We started drinking around noon and didn't stop for weeks. At one point, we traveled in a pack to the NYC unemployment office, and we stayed close over the following months, helping each other figure out what was next.

What we didn't do was get a bailout from taxpayers. We didn't get a government-funded do-over. I bring this up because I'm having a lot of trouble understanding why a contractual agreement to pay bonuses trumps the sad but true reality that AIG drove itself into the ground. Contract or no contract. The company doesn't have any money. You don't get paid. You definitely don't get a bonus.

My Pseudo severance turned up years later. Years. After all the creditors had been paid off and all the debts had been settled. And then I got two weeks. It was something, but it wasn't much.

Lots of dotcoms went bust back then. Investors and entrepreneurs learned their lessons. When you build your empire on sand, it's bound to wash out when the tide rolls in. But remember, at no point did the government step in and prop up the castles.

AIG and the rest of the bailout recipients should consider themselves beyond lucky and behave accordingly. This whole bonus debacle is ridiculous.

Fear of a Pink Hat

I wasn't going to pay the O'Reilly assault any mind here on my own blog, but Chez said everything I would have said (and quite possibly said it better) so I will just direct you over to his little corner of the Interwebs and go about my business of trying to fix health care.

Talk Radio

Here's the link to my interview on Jeff Santos' radio show. It starts a little more than halfway through the 7-8am podcast so best to let the clip download and then scroll forward just past where you can guesstimate 7:35ish to be.

Broken News

A Fox News producer emailed yesterday to ask if I would speak on camera about the "8:45am call" for a package to air this morning. It took me less than 3 seconds to politely decline.

As for things I am willing to talk about, I did a radio show a couple mornings ago, and I got a good 15 minutes or so to chat about HCAN and the work we're doing to win this year. I even got up at 7am to do it. Unfortunately, the station's website has had some technical difficulties the past few days, and now it seems like they're behind in uploading podcasts. When the interview's online, I'll post a link.

But the lesson learned here is that if Fox wanted to chat about something of substance, I'd be happy to participate. Otherwise, I have no desire to contribute to glorifying crap that passes as news.

Telling It Like It Is

Great quote on Rick Scott from Chris Hayes at The Nation:

Having Scott lead the charge against healthcare reform is like tapping Bernie Madoff to campaign against tighter securities regulation. You see, the for-profit hospital chain Scott helped found--the one he ran and built his entire reputation on--was discovered to be in the habit of defrauding the government out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

What He Said

Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-CA31) is my new hero. Watch him undress the private health insurance industry:

Stating the Obvious

Guess who's not getting married.

We See Greedy People

Here's Greg Sargent on MoveOn's new ad calling out the health insurance industry:

“Know what the insurance companies see when they look at you?” the ad asks. “Money. Which is why they’re against the President’s healthcare reform.”

The insurance companies have been suggesting that this time around they want to be part of the solution in some fashion. So MoveOn’s ad is designed to paint the industry’s offer of help as a kind of Trojan Horse, as a threat to reform from within.

Here's the ad:

Don't Call Us

Well, at least people like Rick Scott and Betsy McCaughey know someone's paying attention and onto them.

Protesting the "Put-On At the Ritz"

If you're free, you should be out rallying.

Speakers:
Congressman Eric Massa, (D-NY29)
Ethan Rome, Deputy Campaign Manager for Health Care for America Now
Donna Smith, community organizer for National Nurses Organizing Committee, featured in Michael Moore’s movie SiCKO
Geri Jenkins, RN, President of California Nurses Association
Mary Carol Jennings, Jack Rutledge Legislative Director for the American Medical Student Association
Larry Bryant, co-chair of DC Fights Back.

Got Plans?

Come tell the insurance industry what you really think tomorrow at 11am EST:

Good Tired

It's been such a crazy 36 hours that I powered through the day today with what felt like a work-induced hangover. I could not be more thrilled with what's been accomplished so far and where we're heading now. Next week should be a fun one too. AHIP's holding a conference here in DC, and guess which health care campaign is planning to drop by and say hi.

Meanwhile, we picked up some more post-summit press this morning, and since I'm totally a sharer... here you go:

LA Times:

Even before Obama's White House forum began, a coalition of groups on Thursday brought to the White House more than 300,000 signatures gathered by MoveOn.org, the liberal grass-roots organization that helped elect Obama and scores of congressional Democrats.

"Don't let the insurance lobbyists delay health care any longer. In this economic crisis, we can't afford NOT to pass quality, affordable health care for all this year," the petition read.

"We're ready," said Richard Kirsch, who heads Health Care for America Now, a leading consumer advocate that is helping to organize the political campaign targeting insurers.

Salon.com:

That does have liberal groups a little worried about whether compromises might water down whatever medicine Washington is working on. "We shouldn't confuse President Obama's having an open door with his being a doormat," said Richard Kirsch, the head of Healthcare for America Now, a coalition of labor unions and progressive interest groups pushing for action. The White House seemed to hear them.

Boston Globe:

In a conference call yesterday morning, Health Care for America Now, a coalition of about 800 liberal groups, declared it would fight to include a public insurance plan to help keep costs down. Later, in a statement, the group said it was "no surprise [Republicans] don't want choice if it threatens the profits of the private health insurance industry."

The New Republic:

Obama can help that process along, by using his position to educate voters and unleashing the grassroots machine he built during the campaign. But he can't do it alone. He'll need the help of groups like the Service Empoyees International Union, Health Care for America Now, Moveon.org, and other liberal groups that can organize supporters and rally them upon command.

Rockefeller's statement was a warning to Obama, but it was a warning to these groups as well. Don't be fooled by the pleasantries on Thursday. There's going to be a big fight. And liberals will lose it if they don't prepare now.

No worries. We're prepared.

Have a great weekend.

When Obama Quotes Your Boss

Full Court Press

In addition to what I've already posted, we just had a piece air on CNN and have found ourselves in the mix in the following spots so far today:

NYT:

Liberals said Thursday that they were ready for a fight with the health care industry and would not be outmaneuvered as they were in 1993-94, when President Bill Clinton’s effort to guarantee insurance for every American collapsed.

“In 1993, interest groups sounded supportive and made nice at the outset, but then turned and used all their resources to oppose reform,” said Judith Feder, a Clinton administration official who is now a senior fellow at the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress. “They pretended to favor reform, and undercut it at every step. This time we are not going to let them get away with it.”

MoveOn.org, the liberal advocacy group, joined the National Education Association and Health Care for America Now, a grass-roots coalition, in mobilizing support Thursday for Mr. Obama’s efforts to remake the health care system.

In a letter to Mr. Obama, five senior Republican senators said they were eager to work with him. But they rejected one of Mr. Obama’s campaign proposals, which called for creation of “a new public insurance program,” to compete with private insurers.

“Forcing free-market plans to compete with these government-run programs would create an unlevel playing field and inevitably doom true competition,” the letter said. “Ultimately, we would be left with a single government-run program controlling all of the market.”

The letter was signed by Senators McConnell and Grassley, along with Senators Michael B. Enzi of Wyoming, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and Orrin G. Hatch of Utah.

By contrast, Richard J. Kirsch, the national campaign manager of Health Care for America Now, said that a public plan option, similar to Medicare, was “an essential component of health care reform,” and he added, “We are going to fight for it through the end.”

Reuters & Forbes.com:

Health Care for America Now's National Campaign Manager Richard Kirsch believes the effort can work this time.

'We have unity in a common position amongst the Democratic leadership of Congress and the large, organized progressive base representing the American people,' Kirsch told reporters in a conference call.

Chicago Tribune:

Today, a coalition of groups brought to the White House more than 300,000 petitions gathered by MoveOn.org, the grass-roots powerhouse that helped elect Obama and scores of congressional Democrats.

"Don't let the insurance lobbyists delay health care any longer. In this economic crisis, we can't afford not to pass quality, affordable health care for all this year," the petition states.

"We're ready," said Richard Kirsch, who heads Health Care for Americans Now, a leading consumer advocate that is helping to organize the political campaign targeting insurers.

National Journal:

Progressive organizations including MoveOn.org and the Center For American Progress are adamant about reforming health care -- and not letting insurance company lobbyists get in the way. That was the message conveyed this morning in a conference call with reporters conducted by the Health Care For America Now coalition ahead of President Obama's summit on health care...

Obama Shout Out

President Obama:

With the respect to cost of care, Richard Kirsch with the Health Care for America Now said, 'We can't have a false dichotomy between coverage and costs. That by covering more people, we can also lower costs at the same time...' presumably because those who are not insured at the moment are ending up using extraordinarily expensive emergency room care.

News and Notes

To say the past couple days have been busy would be an understatement. Today has been especially ridiculous (in a good way) what with this little White House Health Care Policy Summit and all.

We've already pushed out two press releases. Here's a little nugget from each:

Health Care Campaign Says: Don’t Confuse Obama’s Open Door with His Being a Doormat

Making sure the people’s voice speaks louder than special interest money, MoveOn.org has collected 301,012 signatures and comments on a petition that reads: “Don’t let the insurance lobbyists delay health care any longer. In this economic crisis, we can’t afford NOT to pass quality, affordable health care for all this year.” Richard Kirsch and Roger Hickey, Co-director of Campaign for America’s Future, will hand-deliver copies of the petition to Members of Congress in attendance today.

Health Care for America Now Responds to Republican Senators Saying NO to Giving Americans a Choice of Private or Public Health Insurance Plans:

“It is remarkable to see Republicans coming out against choice and competition in health care, but no surprise that they don’t want choice if it threatens the profits of the private health insurance industry. President Obama’s plan would provide Americans a choice of a private or public health insurance plan which is essential to controlling costs and assuring that Americans have the options of a plan that will put their health before profits. If private health insurance companies are really more efficient than government, then they shouldn’t be concerned about competing with a public health insurance plan.”

I'll post all the relevant press coverage a little later, but for now, here's a clip of me on ABC News Now's "Politics Live" earlier this afternoon. A little summary of what I said courtesy of The Note:

On ABC News Now’s “Politics Live,” David Chalian and I interviewed two key stakeholders: Jacki Schechner, from the advocacy group Health Care for America Now, and Mike Tuffin, executive vice president of America's Health Insurance Plan, a prominent group that represents health insurers.

Schechner expressed skepticism about how serious interest groups like America's Health Insurance Plan, which helped sink President Clinton’s health-care plan, are about collaborating for a solution that dramatically expands coverage.

“Well, of course they want a seat at the table, but that's about the end of where I take [them at] their word,” she said. “They're going to do everything in their power to maximize their profits. That's what insurance companies do. So, you know, they say all the right things and use all of the right buzz words, but they're saying a lot of ‘no’ behind the scenes.”

Obama, she said, “can swing open the doors to the White House and hear everything that everyone has to say, but he's made it clear over and over and over again that he's not going to … bend down … and ingratiate himself to the special interests in Washington, and that he's not going to do what the insurance companies and drug companies want him to do because that's what Washington's done for way too long.”

What's News With You?

Great profile of Richard in Politico today:

Health Care for America Now grabbed the political spotlight by scoring endorsements of its principles from Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and 188 members of Congress who, according to the group, believe that “quality, affordable health care for all in America should be at the top of the legislative agenda for the new president and Congress in 2009.”

POLITICO caught up with Kirsch last week during a break in the group’s training session. Here are excerpts of the interview.

What do you think of Obama’s address and budget rollout?

He’s made it clear to all the naysayers that he’s serious about winning a guarantee of quality, affordable coverage for everyone this year, and he’s putting his money where his mouth is. It’s a promise that we believe he’s made for a while, and I think the political establishment in Washington finally realizes he’s serious.

What’s the biggest asset you can bring to bear to help pass health care reform?

First of all, that the heart and soul of Health Care for America Now is outside the Beltway, with organizers in 41 states who are mobilizing more than 600 state-based organizations and thousands of activists in each state. And then you combine that with a coalition that represents huge, powerful organizations with 30 million members and a big presence inside the Beltway.

Read the whole thing here.

We're also mentioned in another Politico write today as the counter to a new anti-reform group headed by a guy named Richard Scott:

Some on the left have already formed their own group, Health Care for America Now, a coalition to push for guaranteed health care for all Americans. The group has a $35 million budget this year and is planning on spending half of that on advertising in addition to holding grass-roots events in Washington, and in the districts of key members of Congress.

“We are fully operational, organized, and mobilized to make sure Congress supports the president’s plan to win quality, affordable health care for all this year,” said Jacki Schechner, the group’s communications director

Pro-health reform activists also have begun circulating information in an effort to discredit Scott, a move that underscores the huge stakes involved in the issue.

According to a 2000 article in Forbes, Scott was forced to resign as head of what became known as Columbia/HCA after fraud charges against the massive health care company in 1997. He was replaced by Thomas Frist Jr., the original founder of HCA and brother of future Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.)

The company eventually paid over $880 million to reach a settlement with the Justice Department in 2002 on the charges.

Jonathan Cohn's got more on Rick Scott and his new front group:

Richard Scott became famous, and infamous, for his management of the Hospital Corporation of America during the 1990s. More than almost any other individual, he is emblematic of everything that's frequently wrong with corporate, for-profit medicine--and how it can twist the principles of well-intentioned reforms like managed care, designed to refocus medicine on prevention and efficiency, into a crude tool for cost-cutting and profiteering.

Scott left, or was forced out, from HCA just as it became mired in scandal in 1997, although Scott never faced any criminal charges. One might think that would be the last we'd hear from him, at least on this topic.

Well, guess who's decided he has something to say about health care reform?

This old NYT write calls Scott "[t]he executive who became the most visible symbol of profit-driven medical care." And according to Forbes, Scott's company

...admitted to systematically overcharging the government by claiming marketing costs as reimbursable, by striking illegal deals with home care agencies, and by filing false data about how hospital space was being used.

The company increased Medicare billings by exaggerating the seriousness of the illnesses they were treating. It also granted doctors partnerships in company hospitals as a kickback for the doctors referring patients to HCA. In addition, it gave doctors "loans" that were never expected to be paid back, free rent, free office furniture, and free drugs from hospital pharmacies.

The investigation and the plea is an obvious blow to a company that became a Wall Street darling by promising to bring first-class business practices to the hospital sector, still dominated by not-for-profits. Under former Chief Executive Richard Scott, it bought hospitals by the bucketful and promised to squeeze blood from each one.

When you start hearing the same old scare tactics all over again, please keep in mind whom they're coming from.