Say Cheese

Why is it so hard to get a decent photo? This was taken the night before the big rally last week here in DC. Yup, that's Edie Falco. She was terrific.

Clearly I felt the need to break out my best faux pageant grin. Go me.

Phoning It In

I've been doing more and more radio interviews lately, and I'm starting to really enjoy them. It's the unscripted, personality-driven broadcasting I've always preferred, and it reminds me a lot of my Pseudo days.

I just finished up The Stephanie Miller Show with Hal Sparks who was filling in for Stephanie. It went well. He's fun to banter with. Actually, I can only think of one "appearance" I didn't totally adore, and that's because a couple of other guests went off on a pro-single payer tangent in which I had no interest in participating. I just sat back and let them go to town.

But usually, especially when it's one-on-one, I get to say what I want, fight for the cause, and toss in a little humor along the way. And I get to do it all in jeans and a t-shirt, and I don't have to wear TV makeup.

Bliss.

A First For Everything

I actually think I agree with David Brooks today. (Yes, I'm feeling okay)

Before you judge, take a gander:

On health care, too, the complicated job of getting a bill that can pass is taking priority over the complicated task of creating a program that can work. Dozens of different ideas are being added, watered down or merged together in order to cobble together a majority. But will the logrolling produce a sustainable health system that controls costs and actually hangs together?

The great paradox of the age is that Barack Obama, the most riveting of recent presidents, is leading us into an era of Congressional dominance. And Congressional governance is a haven for special interest pleading and venal logrolling.

When the executive branch is dominant you often get coherent proposals that may not pass. When Congress is dominant, as now, you get politically viable mishmashes that don’t necessarily make sense.

We need health care reform legislation that actually does something to make people's lives better, not legislation that makes it easier for Members of Congress to sit together in the cafeteria.

Kudos to TPM

I love when blog reporters do the work traditional outlets overlook:

As Congress gets set to take up health-care reform, there's a crucial piece of data that hasn't received nearly the prominence in the debate that it deserves.

Defenders of the status quo on health care like to point out that a public option will destroy the system of robust free-market competition that currently exists.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), speaking earlier this month on Fox News, called President Obama's plan the "first step in destroying the best health care system the world has ever known." A public option, Shelby added, would "destroy the marketplace for health care."

But the notion that most American consumers enjoy anything like a competitive marketplace for health care is flatly false. And a study issued last month by a pro-reform group makes that strikingly clear.

The AP and NPR picked up our report when it was released, but very few national outlets followed up or even bothered to discuss the ramifications of uber-consolidation in the private insurance marketplace.

I'm glad Zack took notice and posted a longer form explanation as to why such consolidation is problematic. In fact, every time a Republican stands up and says we have plenty of competition in the marketplace because there are 1300 insurance companies out there right now, the interviewer or opposing pundit should counter with the truth. 94% of the health insurance markets are considered "highly concentrated" by the AMA, and there is no real competition. One or two companies dominate. And instead of fighting to offer you the lowest prices and best service, they fight to see how much overpayment and stripped down service the market can bear.

Zack is right to re-emphasize the data, and he is right to start looking into the holdout Members of Congress and their campaign contributors. It's all tied together and not tough to suss out:

That's because insurers who control large swathes of a given market stand to see their bottom lines particularly threatened by the introduction of a lower-cost public option. So, in turn, they'll be particularly aggressive in pulling out all the stops to pressure lawmakers to oppose the plan. Given the healthy amount of campaign dollars that some wavering members take in from the major insurers, that's hardly encouraging.

Of course, the Senate is where the major legislative showdown will likely occur. So in some forthcoming posts, we'll be taking a close look at just which senators have taken money from insurers who control major percentages of the state-wide market -- and where those senators stand on the public option. Stay tuned...

AP: Math Is Hard

The Associated Press covered our rally and lobby day last week and reported the following...twice (emphases mine):

"I work in a business where they take great care of you if you are working," Falco told a crowd of several hundred at the rally.

Across from the Capitol Thursday, hundreds of people, including actress Edie Falco, rallied for health care overhaul.

I emailed three reporters at the AP (and their boss) to explain we had a crowd of 10,000, and at the very least, the accurate account would be thousands instead of hundreds. I broke it down accordingly:

We and our partners paid for 207 buses (a number which has actually grown by 14 now that the final tally is in) - each of which held 55 people. Let's assume only 40 got on each. That's 8280 people right there that we physically brought to DC ourselves. Add onto that the 250+ who flew into town, those who drove on their own from neighboring states, and those who turned up through Organizing for America, Democracy for America, and MoveOn.org. We had 7500 lunches, and anyone who got a lunch had to turn in a ticket to receive it. We ran out. The 13,500 bottles of water disappeared quickly too.

I even sent several other news reports as examples of outlets that got it right as proof that their reporter had perhaps severely underestimated the size of the crowd:

WSJ: Thousands of union members and other advocates of overhauling the health care system rallied on Capitol Hill today to demand high quality, affordable health care for all — this year.

Miami Herald: Thousands of their constituents rallied outside the Capitol to show their support for change, and the Obama administration called for action.

CBS: In a rally on Capitol Hill today, some high profile politicians joined thousands of union workers, doctors and other health care reform supporters in a united front against the industry and demanded a government-sponsored health insurance option.

Politico: Thousands of grassroots activists and labor workers from across the country flooded Capitol Hill Thursday for a high-volume rally for health care reform.

For the Associated Press to refuse to correct its tally is ludicrous. Even though the Park Police no longer calculate estimates, a uniformed officer told us it was the largest gathering he'd ever seen in Upper Senate Park. The permitted area holds 2500. Our crowds spilled way over that capacity. Not even close.

The most frustrating part of the whole debacle is that papers nationwide reprint the AP. So when they screw up, the numbers of record become grossly understated. 10,000 is a lot different than "hundreds," especially when it comes to covering a story about the breadth of support for health care reform.

It's one thing to stand by your reporter when the story's subjective. It's another to back up a bad report when the facts are indisputable.

There is no shame in correcting the record. There is shame in refusing to admit you've rewritten the record and should go back and make it right.

Just Checking In

Apologies for the radio silence around these parts the past few days. Recuperating from the event that was Health Care '09 took a little longer than expected.

The press release gives a good summary of the day:

GOOD WEEK FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM
AS 10,000 RALLY & LOBBY AT CAPITOL

300 Congressional Visits, 13 Town Halls, & Sen. Specter Endorses Sen. Schumer’s Public Health Insurance Option Proposal

Washington, DC – On Thursday June 25, 2009, Health Care for America Now (HCAN) – the nation’s largest health care campaign – held a large-scale rally at Upper Senate Park in Washington, DC and conducted the largest health care lobby day ever with more than 300 visits to Congressional offices on the Hill. Actress Edie Falco, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ),Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). Representative Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Representative Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, Labor and Community leaders, doctors, nurses, and everyday people with health care stories addressed a crowd of at least 10,000 who traveled to the nation’s capital from across the country to demand quality, affordable health care for all in 2009.

Read the whole thing here. Here's a short video too:



Speaking of video, I just discovered Mad Men (on demand) this weekend and am having trouble tearing myself away.

I promise I'll be back tomorrow with something of substance. Actually, I'm booked to do radio again in the morning so if you're so inclined, you can catch it online here around 8:15am.

Until then, g'night.

Health Care '09

It's here. Today's the day. Go to HealthCare09.org for all the details. The rally starts at 11:30am at Upper Senate Park.

You also can text HEALTH to 94553 to get updates, and follow us on Twitter at #healthcare09.

Edie Falco will be on CNN in the 8:30am half hour to kick things off. Then I suspect the rest will just take on a life of its own.

Happy Rally and Lobby Day. Now let's go win this thing.

Former Insurance Insider to Testify

At 2:30pm today, Wendell Potter, former insurance executive with CIGNA and Humana, will testify before the Senate Commerce committee. It should be good stuff.

Here are a few early press clips. From ABC:

The much-maligned health insurance industry is braced for another black eye today as the Senate hears testimony from a former insurance company executive.

Wendell Potter, who worked in public relations for Cigna and Humana Inc., for more than 20 years before retiring in 2008, is scheduled to testify this afternoon before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Potter is expected to speak critically of insurance company practices and provide insight on why consumers often come away feeling confused after dealing with insurance companies.

CBS:

CBS News has learned a former executive for a major health insurance company, Cigna, will speak out for the first time before Congress tomorrow on practices that he is expected to characterize as deceptive by the health insurance industry.

Wendell Potter, the former Vice President of Communications for Cigna Insurance Company in Philadelphia is scheduled to testify at 2:30 pm before the Senate Commerce Committee. He is expected to describe how the health insurance industry purposefully uses "confusing language" for consumers as part of its business strategy. He worked in the health insurance industry for 20 years for both Cigna and Humana health insurance companies.

WaPo:

Potter “left the industry after witnessing practices he felt harmed American health care consumers,” the organization said. “To him there was a heart-breaking discrepancy between Americans struggling to find affordable, comprehensive coverage and wealthy insurance executives who based their premium charges—and coverage decisions, on profits rather than people’s health care needs.”

Potter’s aim, according to the news release, is to stop his former industry "from once again derailing meaningful reform."

Potter’s successor as spokesman for CIGNA, Chris Curran, said Potter “was intimately involved in our health care reform efforts.”

You can watch the hearing online here.

Pull Up A Chair

Let's have a little conversation about this private health insurance companies' "we can't compete with a public health insurance plan" argument.

Huh?

You insure 170 million people. You have name brand recognition. You've been in the business of health insurance for decades. And yet somehow, a brand new public health insurance option is going to run you out of business?

Really?

Oh, and at the same time, you argue the government can't run anything and shouldn't have a role in health care coverage or reform. A contradiction President Obama also pointed out in his press conference today:

Why would it drive private insurers out of business? If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care, if they tell us that they're offering a good deal, then why is it that the government -- which they say can't run anything -- suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That's not logical.

(...)

So there are going to be some I think legitimate debates to be had about how this [public] plan takes shape. But just conceptually, the notion that all these insurance companies who say they're giving consumers the best possible deal, that they can't compete against a public plan as one option, with consumers making the decision what's the best deal. That defies logic, which is why I think you've seen in the polling data overwhelming support for a public plan.

A close second in the race for dumbest argument is the call for a "level playing field." The insurance companies have been in control with no competition and little regulation forever. How level's that field?

Nothing about health insurance companies as they are now is fair. It's the whole premise of our video:



and the corresponding website. It's why we need reform in the first place.

Can I Get A Witness?

Richard is testifying before Energy and Commerce this morning. You can watch online through the committee website. Click on the "live video webcast" link at the top of the page.

The photo to the left is Emmy editing Richard's written testimony. She felt there weren't enough aaaaaa's and cccccc's in it.

If Not Now, When?

David Brooks:

Health care reform is important, but it is not worth bankrupting the country over.

Yo, David. We're already there:

Medical bills are behind more than 60 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies

More on the same study:

Bankruptcies due to medical bills increased by nearly 50 percent in a six-year period, from 46 percent in 2001 to 62 percent in 2007, and most of those who filed for bankruptcy were middle-class, well-educated homeowners, according to a report that will be published in the August issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

More on June 25th here.

Dumb Media Meme of the Week

or If Health Care Reform Is Dead, Then Why Am I So Busy?

I don't know who started the absurd rumor that health care reform is dead and/or dying. but it could be the most ridiculous fabricated story I've heard in a while.

We are talking about making huge sweeping progressive change that will affect people's lives in a very real way (a very good real way), and we're talking about Congress (yes, that Congress) making it happen. It's going to take a little time. We're not naming a state frog here, folks. We're tying to fix health care in the face of extreme opposition from incredibly well-monied special interests and Republicans who would love nothing more than to see President Obama and Democratic leadership fail. Let's be patient. Just a touch.

When you've got a heavy lift, it takes a minute or two to get your feet planted firmly beneath you. You've got to brace yourself first. Right now, as far as I'm concerned, we're still just chalking up.

The House starts its hearings today. Richard will be testifying. CAF is doing a press call and emphasizing A. Bipartisanship is a crock of b.s. and B. HCAN's report on how health care is just plain unaffordable.

Tomorrow is a Senate hearing you'll want to keep and eye on. More info on that to come.

And Thursday is our big rally here in D.C. For more on Health Care '09, check out the website. It's going to be the largest health care lobby day ever. You can follow the days events on Twitter with #healthcare09, and you can sign up for text alerts by texting HEALTH to 94553.

Edie Falco will be here, and Governor Dean will be delivering his half million signatures for the public health insurance option to Congress. It's going to big. I suspect bigger than anyone's expecting.

So would it kill the media to get a grip?

Here's the Edie video again in case you missed it:

I'm Ok

This Metro train collision is horrible. I am getting bits and pieces from the news so even though I am here in DC, I don't know any more than you do.

But I'm ok. And because a few people called to make sure, I figured a reassuring blog post was in order.

And thank you to the family and friends who did check in. It means a lot to know you're thinking of me.

Poll Position

And In Closing...

Ok, kids. It's about that time.

Today's great escape from the office is brought to you by the letter W (as in weekend) and the number 3 (as in how many adult beverages it's going to take to drive me away from health care conversation).

I will say, however, that no matter how busy it gets or how maddening the course of events up on the Hill, I truly feel like I am in exactly the right place at the right time. I love what I do and why I do it. And you can't beat that.

I know. Sappy. Whatever. I'm entitled.

Have a good one.

Positively Doable

The House draft bill just out this afternoon is terrific. This is the best line of our comment:

For those who say it’s too hard, too complicated, too expensive, this bill is proof positive that we can do this in America.

What If

We've got a new ad out today in 10 states. Here's the release. Here's the ad:

No Small Reminder

In case you forgot how awful health insurance companies can be, here's a 40-plus page compilation of abuses (pdf) - indexed by bad behavior and by state.

Out in Right Field

The GOP release their "plan" for health care reform today. It's a joke. Remember, they had 8 years to do something and did nothing. Here's our official comment:

“While committees in Congress are doing the hard work on real reform, Republican leaders are endorsing a collection of stale bullet points and already-rejected ideas. They suggest we control costs by giving people tax credits to buy health insurance they can’t afford and loosely encouraging states and employers to cover more people. Now Rep. Boehner writes he wants to cut regulations on the insurance industry on the same day The LA Times reports three of the largest health insurance companies told Congress they refuse to stop canceling people’s policies when they get sick. Talk about being out of step and out of touch with what the American public wants and needs.”

At the same time Greg points to new Gallup poll showing the American public trusts Republicans least of all when it comes to recommending what's right for health care reform - less than insurance companies:



And a new nonpartisan, independent poll from EBRI shows that 83% of the public supports a public health insurance option. 83%:

News You Can't Excuse

I give up. Does no one in TV news fact check anymore? When I was in journalism, I wouldn't feel comfortable writing something or putting something on the air that I didn't know to be true. That's why you do research and make phone calls. When someone spews crap, you call them out on it. I thought that's what reporting was for.

Now I know why I got out of the business altogether.

Rep. John Boehner got up on TV today and said - uncontested - that CBO scored a partial Kennedy bill and figured out how much the public option would cost.

There is no public option in the bill. Period. It's part of the problem we have with the CBO estimates. The partial bill didn't include big ticket items that would lower costs and increase coverage like the employer requirement for shared responsibility, the public health insurance plan, and policies like Medicare.

Earlier today, a TV producer sent me a list of questions for an interview tomorrow, and three of the six were about government-run health care. Nevermind no one is proposing government-run health care. The questions were regurgitated Rick Scott/right wing talking points. When I pointed out that we could talk about things like what Obama's plan actually is, what the public option will do, how we plan to pay for reform... you know, things that actually inform the public, I got a nasty "I don't need your lectures and charity."

It's not the least bit shocking, but it is completely disheartening.

I just want them all to be better journalists. I want to believe they're better journalists. I want to think they work hard to get to the truth. I defended them for years.

But now that I'm a viewer and news consumer, I see what you see.

They don't. And they're just not.

UPDATE: Here's the Boehner transcript. Remember, there is no public option in the bill:

BOEHNER: Well, I think the president is ignoring reality.

The Congressional Budget Office came out with a score on Senator Kennedy's bill, just part of the score -- of the -- of his bill, that says that the public option would cost over $1 trillion, and would cause 23 million Americans to lose their private health care coverage, and only 16 million of which would -- would be covered under the -- the government plan.

And, so, it's not just me and others. It's -- it's very clear that the so-called public option would be subsidized by the government. It would draw people out of the private sector. It would cause companies to just give up their coverage and force people into a government-run plan.

BLITZER: I know you don't...

(CROSSTALK)

BOEHNER: That's not what we -- that's not what we want.

What we want is, we want to work with the president to make sure that all Americans have access to high-quality, affordable health insurance.

BLITZER: I know you don't want a government-run health insurance plan. You want a private-run plan.

What about this proposal, this compromise, in between? Kent Conrad, the Democratic senator, suggesting co-ops, where you -- you band together hundreds of thousands of people, and you create a co-op that's not government run. It's privately run. But it -- but it would potentially do the same thing.

No it wouldn't. Not even close. But that's fodder for another post. Right now, let's just leave it at THERE IS NO PUBLIC OPTION IN THE BILL.

Keeping You Posted

To say everything is moving extremely quickly would be an understatement. I'm going to try my best to keep you in the loop on the issues that matter, but if I slack from time to time, you can always check in with our official HCAN blogger - Jason - here. He's terrific and manages to break it all down into digestible, bite-sized nuggets.

The top two "new" issues garnering attention right now are the "co-op" proposal and CBO's scoring of an incomplete draft of the HELP committee's health care bill.

Here's what you need to know to make intelligent cocktail conversation about the co-op (yes, that would probably be the most boring cocktail party ever):

As envisioned, the co-op proposal would create a bunch of member operated plans around the country, none of which would have the clout to compete with private insurance or really lower prices with providers and drug companies.

It's not a legitimate substitute for a public health insurance option. Any public health insurance option must meet 4 principles to be effective:

1. National and available everywhere: A strong public health insurance option will be a national public health insurance program, available in all areas of the country. The insurance industry is made of of conglomerates that have national reach. In order to have the clout to compete with the insurance industry and keep them honest, the public health insurance option must be national as well.

2. Government appointed and accountable: The entire problem with private health insurance is that they aren't accountable to you or me. A public health insurance option must have a different incentive. A public health insurance option doesn't have to be a government entity necessarily, but its decision makers must be appointed by government and must be accountable to government.

3. Bargaining clout: The whole point of health reform is to lower health care costs. Clearly, the insurance industry has failed to lower costs when left to their own devices. As the President says, we need a strong public health insurance option to lower rates, change the incentives in our health care system, and keep the industry honest.

4. Ready on day one: The private health insurance industry has utterly failed to control health care costs or provide their customers the quality they've paid through the nose for. With one person going bankrupt every 30 seconds due to health care costs, we cannot afford to wait any longer for a real fix. We need the public health insurance option to start lowering prices now. That means no trigger.

As for the CBO scoring, the Congressional Budget Office gave an incomplete estimate of an incomplete bill. It's missing some biggies like the employer shared responsibility component of reform, the public health insurance option, and important policies outside of the HELP committees jurisdiction (like Medicaid). As Jason points out, none of this will stop Republicans from using the CBO scoring as an argument against reform, but keep in mind this is all a work in progress, and we are only just beginning.

Last Call Radio

I'm doing this show right now.

Case Closed

When I say there are very few smart, successful, good-looking guys in this town, I am not exaggerating. Politico drives the point home in a piece entitled The Hunks of Washington. The list:

Peter Orszag
Grover Norquist
Christopher Hitchens
Chuck Todd
Rahm Emanuel
Rep. Eric Cantor
Rep. Ron Paul

Yes, they're serious.

Infrequent Shopper

I have so little time to run errands these days that even the smallest purchases trigger my credit card company's early fraud alert.

Using the card at three different spots over the past three days was enough to trip the system. It's good that they're on top of it because I've had my card number stolen more than once, but I know from experience thieves are more likely to charge things like gas and cigarettes and cases of liquor and long distance phone calls than one round of drinks, running attire, and makeup.

Weakend

I'm beat.

Truly knackered.

But in the immortal words of Polexia Aphrodisia...It's all happening!

Happy Birthday

I love you

xoxoxo








UPDATE: Birthday flowers have been delivered

HCAN on TeeVee

Richard braved the lion's den that is Fox News to comment on the President's health care town hall appearance in Green Bay today. Here's the clip:

Nice Work

Senator Rockefeller has crafted the framework for a strong public health insurance option. It's excellent.

Rockefeller’s Legislation Will:

* Offer a “Consumer Choice Health Plan” as an option alongside private insurance. By bringing a competitive public plan option to the table, private insurance companies will be driven to provide Americans with better value for their health care at a better price, in contrast to the current private insurance framework, which is focused on avoiding risk and increasing their profits.


* Establish America’s Health Insurance Trust as a “good housekeeping seal of approval” to give consumers a voice in health insurance oversight. This nonprofit, consumer-driven organization will evaluate and give ratings to all health insurance products offered through the national health insurance exchange – based on factors such as affordability, adequacy, transparency, consumer satisfaction, provider satisfaction, and quality.

The background document is here. A one-page summary is here.

Who's Getting Through

Someone asked me yesterday whose message on health care reform was getting through to the masses. My answer? Fox.

Take a look at the latest ratings numbers for evening cable news programs, courtesy of TVNewser. This is the coveted 24-54 demo for Monday June 8th:



As long as this crap passes for "fair and balanced news," we've got our hands full.

Please Just Stop

Tweet is a dumb word. It sounds even dumber in news stories (emphasis mine):

Sen. John McCain, who shared last year's Republican presidential ticket with Palin, greeted his former running mate as she made her way to her table. Soon after, the former GOP presidential nominee tweeted: "Great to see Sarah and Todd at the dinner tonight -- nice reunion!"

First Grassley. Now McCain. Don't Senators have better things to do?

Public (health insurance) Plan Primer

If you read one thing about the public health insurance option this week (so far), make it this 101 by Ezra:

...Enter the public insurance option. It doesn't replace the insurance individuals already rely on. But it provides an alternative. It lets them make the decision. It's the health care equivalent of being pro-choice. And it thus serves two purposes. The first is to act as a public insurer. To use market share to bargain down the prices of services, much as Medicare does. To lower administrative costs. To operate outside the need for profit, and quarterly results...The second is to apply competitive pressure to the rest of the insurance industry. If the public plan is ruthlessly lowering its administrative costs and garnering a reputation for decent, good-faith service, it will take market share from the private insurers. The private insurers will have to respond in kind to retain their customers. If they fail to adapt, the system could become something resembling a single-payer structure.

But that's not the most likely outcome. Rather, the theory here is simple: If you can't replace them, convert them. If the public plan works, then private insurance will work better as well. In this telling, the simple existence of the public plan forces a more honest insurance market: Private insurers need to offer premiums closer to their marginal cost, and they have to cut administrative costs, and they have to work on their reputation for cruelty and capriciousness. The existence of another option changes the market. Individuals will have access to private insurers, but they'll no longer be stuck with them.

Read the whole thing, and then seriously consider emailing it around to anyone who hates that their insurance premiums go up all the time for no reason, anyone who's been denied a medication or treatment for no reason, or anyone who stays in a job they hate just for the health insurance.

This isn't about politics. It's about profit. Insurance companies and the Members of Congress they bankroll with campaign contributions are fighting tooth and nail against something that will make your life better. Plain and simple. Remember, Members of Congress don't have to navigate the insurance market. They don't have to worry about getting sick, seeing a doctor, or being refused coverage because of arbitrarily defined pre-existing conditions. Their health care needs are subsidized. You take care of them. Is it too much to ask them to finally take care of you?

Rounding Out The Lineup

Richard did ABC News' Top Line show today. You can read about it here and watch the video here.

Edie Falco for HCAN

She did a great video to launch our new text messaging campaign and to invite you to join her here in DC on June 25th:



Here's what she says:

Hi. I'm Edie Falco, and I support Health Care for America Now. I spent many years without health coverage. I know the feeling of hoping your symptoms go away before you have to get money together to see a doctor. I know worrying about it makes it even harder to get better. I still have friends and family in this position. My situation is different now. I have health care. I have good doctors. I'm treated very well, and I'm grateful for this. I also know that no one person is any more worthy of such treatment than any other one person who may be sitting at home right now worried about their own health or the health of a loved one knowing they don't have the money to take care of it. In June, I am going down to Washington, DC with Health Care for America Now. Together, we are going to let Congress know that we will not wait another moment to fix our broken health care system. We have a plan. A plan that makes health care affordable to both families and businesses. It's a real plan. If you have insurance that works for you, you can keep it. You will also have a guaranteed backup plan. It's quality, affordable health care no matter what. Peace of mind.

You can join us in Washington, DC on June 25th. Text “HEALTH” to 94553.

Together we can get this done. Now is the time.

Grumpy Old Man

Put down the keyboard and step away from the computer. Seriously. You're a Senator. Get a grip.

From AP:

Grassley: Obama's "Got Nerve" To Push Lawmakers From Paris

WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley says that President Barack Obama "got nerve" to go sightseeing in Paris while telling lawmakers it's time to deliver on a health care overhaul.

Grassley, the top Republican on the Finance Committee, is key to any bipartisan health care deal. Using Twitter _ the Internet-based social connection service allows users to send mass text messages called "tweets" _ the Iowa Republican issued two angry "tweets" Sunday morning as the president wrapped up an overseas tour.

(...)

Grassley's first tweet: "Pres Obama you got nerve while u sightseeing in Paris to tell us 'time to deliver' on health care. We still on skedul/even workinWKEND."

A short time later: "Pres Obama while u sightseeing in Paris u said 'time to delivr on healthcare' When you are a 'hammer' u think evrything is NAIL I'm no NAIL."

A Grassley spokeswoman verified that the senator was the author of the messages.

This is the man we're letting help craft health care reform legislation? Really?

If ever we needed evidence that Senator Baucus should just go ahead as planned and not worry so much about bipartisan agreement with Senator Grassley, this is as good as that gets.

Read 'em and Leave

Couple of Three interesting writes to usher in the weekend. First is proof I can work the public health insurance option into ANY story. From Bloomberg:

Obama health overhaul may be death knell for small insurers

(I know you're thinking,'What does that title have to do with the public health insurance option?' Just watch...)

More than 260 contractors offer Medicare Advantage plans, said Joseph Kuchler, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in an e-mail.

Perhaps half of private insurance plans depend on Medicare Advantage for most of their revenue and may be pushed out of the market if the U.S. eliminates the extra payments they get, Keckley said.

“It’s conceivable in 10 years you could be down to 70 plans nationwide,” he said.

The possibility is another argument in favor of creating a government-backed health plan to compete with private insurers, said Jacki Schechner, a spokeswoman for Health Care for America Now, a Washington-based nonprofit supporting Obama’s efforts.

The group released a report last month that said most areas of the country meet the Justice Department’s antitrust definition for a “highly concentrated” insurance market. The report cited a 2008 American Medical Association survey that found two insurers held at least half the market share in 29 states.

A public plan “would increase competition in a marketplace that is seeing total concentration already,” said Schechner, whose organization is backed by labor unions including the AFL- CIO and the Service Employees International Union.

She shoots. She scores.

The second article is about Sebelius' support for the public health insurance option. She references the HCAN report about market consolidation without ever mentioning the actual report. Good enough. I'll take it. From the WSJ:

The government needs to create a public health insurance plan because many parts of the country are monopolized by a single private health insurer, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Friday in an interview.

Ms. Sebelius told The Wall Street Journal that a new public health insurance plan would benefit consumers by providing more competition in the market and holding down costs. Whether to create such a plan has become one of the most contentious aspects of sweeping legislation lawmakers are crafting to fix the nation's health system.

In "many areas in the country, the private market is monopolized by one carrier," Ms. Sebelius said. "You don't have a choice for consumers. And what we know in any kind of market is a monopoly doesn't give much incentive for other innovation or for cost-effective strategies."

Finally, Matt Bai's NYT Magazine piece about the White House and health care reform is now online. I haven't read it yet. I'll be doing that now.

Then I am off for the weekend. Hopefully, it will dry out sooner rather than later. Soggy is not a good look for me.

I'll check in if there's news. Otherwise, have a good one.

Exactly

Krugman nails it again in today's NYT:

Keeping Them Honest

“I appreciate your efforts, and look forward to working with you so that the Congress can complete health care reform by October.” So declared President Obama in a letter this week to Senators Max Baucus and Edward Kennedy. The big health care push is officially on.

But the devil is in the details. Health reform will fail unless we get serious cost control — and we won’t get that kind of control unless we fundamentally change the way the insurance industry, in particular, behaves. So let me offer Congress two pieces of advice:

1) Don’t trust the insurance industry.

2) Don’t trust the insurance industry.

The Democratic strategy for health reform is based on a political judgment: the belief that the public will be more willing to accept reform, less easily Harry-and-Louised, if those who already have health coverage from private insurers are allowed to keep it.

But how can we have fundamental reform of what Mr. Obama calls a “broken system” if the current players stay in place? The answer is supposed to lie in a combination of regulation and competition.

It’s a sign of the way the political winds are blowing that insurers aren’t opposing new regulations. Indeed, the president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry lobby known as AHIP, has explicitly accepted the need for “much more aggressive regulation of insurance.”

What’s still not settled, however, is whether regulation will be supplemented by competition, in the form of a public plan that Americans can buy into as an alternative to private insurance.

Now nobody is proposing that Americans be forced to get their insurance from the government. The “public option,” if it materializes, will be just that — an option Americans can choose. And the reason for providing this option was clearly laid out in Mr. Obama’s letter: It will give Americans “a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive, and keep the insurance companies honest.”

Those last five words are crucial because history shows that the insurance companies will do nothing to reform themselves unless forced to do so.

Consider the seemingly trivial matter of making it easier for doctors to deal with multiple insurance companies.

Back in 1993, the political strategist (and former Times columnist) William Kristol, in a now-famous memo, urged Republican members of Congress to oppose any significant health care reform. But even he acknowledged that some things needed fixing, calling for, among other things, “a simplified, uniform insurance form.”

Fast forward to the present. A few days ago, major players in the health industry laid out what they intend to do to slow the growth in health care costs. Topping the list of AHIP’s proposals was “administrative simplification.” Providers, the lobby conceded, face “administrative challenges” because of the fact that each insurer has its own distinct telephone numbers, fax numbers, codes, claim forms and administrative procedures. “Standardizing administrative transactions,” AHIP asserted, “will be a watershed event.”

Think about it. The insurance industry’s idea of a cutting-edge, cost-saving reform is to do what William Kristol — William Kristol! — thought it should have done 15 years ago.

How could the industry spend 15 years failing to make even the most obvious reforms? The answer is simple: Americans seeking health coverage had nowhere else to go. And the purpose of the public option is to make sure that the industry doesn’t waste another 15 years — by giving Americans an alternative if private insurers fall down on the job.

Be warned, however. The insurance industry will do everything it can to avoid being held accountable.

At first the insurance lobby’s foot soldiers in Congress tried to shout down the public option with the old slogans: private enterprise good, government bad.

At this point, however, they’re trying to kill the public option in more subtle ways. The most recent ruse is the proposal for a “trigger” — the public option will only become available if private insurers fail to meet certain performance criteria. The idea, of course, is to choose those criteria to ensure that the trigger is never pulled.

And here’s the thing. Without an effective public option, the Obama health care reform will be simply a national version of the health care reform in Massachusetts: a system that is a lot better than nothing but has done little to address the fundamental problem of a fragmented system, and as a result has done little to control rising health care costs.

Right now the health insurers are promising to deliver major cost savings. But history shows that such promises can’t be trusted. As President Obama said in his letter, we need a serious, real public option to keep the insurance companies honest.

Related: Spot On (5/22/09)

Better Left Unsaid

How to guarantee you never get a second date with me:

"I think Sarah Palin got a raw deal."

In the News

A little HCAN morning reading for you:

Obama Open to Plan Requiring Everyone to Get Insurance
New York Times - United States
But Richard J. Kirsch, the national campaign manager of Health Care for America Now, a consumer group, said he was “thrilled to see President Obama's strong ...

Obama lays out health overhaul
Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA
Richard Kirsch, head of the liberal coalition Health Care for America Now, said he was "thrilled" by the public option language in the letter: "It is now ...

Groups on the Left Are Suddenly on Top
Washington Post - United States
There are young left-leaning groups devoted to health care (Health Care for America Now), economics (the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities), ...

Marketplace: Insurers won't swallow competition pill
Richard Kirsch: We're looking to not have just everybody in government health insurance; we're not looking for everybody in private health insurance. We're looking to make that the choice that you and I and every American make. ...

Obama Says He Is "Open" To Health Care Mandate
CBS News - New York,NY,USA
... health insurance option," Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager for Health Care for America Now, said in a statement in reaction to the letter. ...

Nelson Clarifies Position On Public Health Care Option
By The Huffington Post News Editors
Nelson shouldn't deny them that choice," said Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager for the reform coalition Health Care for America Now. Nelson said that when he initially said he opposed ...

HCAN "Thrilled" With Obama's "Strong, Unambiguous Commitment" To Public Option
By Brian Beutler - June 3, 2009, 5:39PM
Richard Kirsch, the national campaign director for Health Care for America Now, read Obama's letter to Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Max Baucus (D-MT), and liked what he saw

Obama wants public option in health care bill -- and wants it done by October
by Joe Sudbay (DC) on 6/03/2009 05:46:00 PM
I want health care like members of Congress and their families have. Actually, if members of Congress and their families had health insurance like most of us have, this system would have been changed years ago. But, we are where we are. And, we're ready for real health care reform legislation to pass...

...Health Care for America Now (HCAN) liked Obama's letter:

We are thrilled to see President Obama's strong, unambiguous commitment to reform that includes the choice of keeping private health insurance or joining a new public health insurance option.