President Obama signed the reconciliation bill into law today. Reform came a little late (we aimed to wrap in 2009) and came up a little short (i bet on the public option being in the final bill and lost), but all in all, we done good.
On a totally unrelated note, I snagged this info off a friend's Facebook post. Apparently, the new .05 bag tax has been working. Look at the numbers from DCist:
According to a press release from the office of bag fee champion Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), a report from the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue found that the city took in just shy of $150,000 in bag fees in January, all of which will go toward cleaning up the Anacostia River. That's not a lot of money for what is a huge and multi-year endeavor, but what is notable is how much the use of plastic bags is reported to have decreased. The report accounts for the purchase of around 3 million plastic bags in January, a huge drop from the average 22.5 million bags District residents were estimated to have used per month prior to the fee's implementation.
On its face, you could then claim that the five-cent fee pushed District residents to use 19 million fewer plastic bags in a single month. But keep in mind, this is just the first month of results, when there were certainly scofflaws who didn't charge for bags. Still, if the math is even half right, that's a massive change in consumer behavior -- one spurred by nothing more than a nickel.
Coincidentally, I thought about this yesterday as I watched a woman walk across the street with her canvas grocery bag. I wondered if the bag tax was working, and if so, does it mean DCers are particularly eco-friendly or just extraordinarily cheap?
So here is the downside of winning a campaign. People start to scatter.
Levana left town today. She's got a great new gig, and I'm very proud of and happy for her.
However, after seeing each other daily for two years and becoming the best of friends, it's going to be a real adjustment to be here in D.C. without her. Doable but sad.
I got an email this morning with a very clever subject line:
We Got Next
It's from The Climate Protection Action Fund's Repower America campaign, and the email reads in part:
I'm a basketball fan -- but this year, the drama of "March Madness" is a lot bigger than college basketball. This week's health care victory shows that, on or off the court, the underdog can triumph.
To win on clean energy legislation, our movement will need to topple the goliaths of big oil and their starting lineup of high-paid lobbyists. We can't match their resources, but we can beat them with passion and commitment. Clean energy has been on the sidelines long enough -- it's time to tell Congress that the next game in town is ours.
The climate change peeps have been patiently waiting their turn, and this is a good segue.
Towards the end of our campaign, we started to work in the broader implications of getting health care reform done, talking about how a win on health care set the stage for success in other arenas. RA is spot-on in its messaging. Bringing in the win as proof it can be done and using our anti-corporate model as a framework is absolutely the right way to go.
The Senate just passed the reconciliation bill. The final vote was 56 to 43. Democrats Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mark Pryor (D-AR), and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) were "no"s. More on that later.
But as you may have heard, the bill now has to go back to the House one last time. There were two small changes having to do with the education provisions, not health care, but that was enough to require the extra step.
The House is expected to pass reconciliation - again - some time this evening. At that point, short of the President's signature - again - we will be done.
And then I will exhale.
Meanwhile, I'm sure you've also been hearing about the threatening phone calls and various acts of violence now aimed at lawmakers who voted for reform. Well, we here at HCAN have decided to counter hate with health.
Senator Johnny Isakson - a Republican - has been sick since Monday. We just sent an email to our list asking people to wish the Senator well. You can click here to participate and send a "Get Well" fax to Isakson.
It's not over until it's over, and Democrats are now trying to get the House-passed reconciliation bill through the Senate without having to send it back to the House for a second vote. That means no amendments. None.
We had a press call this afternoon with Senator Harkin who said the following:
“This week, we accomplished what Presidents and Congresses have tried and failed to do since the Teddy Roosevelt administration: we defeated the insurance companies and the other special interests and we made history by passing comprehensive health care reform. But now we have to continue to educate the American people about all the good things in the new law and pass a measure that makes a good bill even better. It’s time for our message to be clear: a vote for any amendment is a vote against health reform and against reform of the student lending program. It’s time to hang tough and not give Congressional Republicans an opportunity to kill this bill.”
The full press release is here, and an mp3 recording of the press call is here.
180 groups agree with us and Senator Harkin, and they signed a letter saying so. Richard explains:
“What these 180 organizations representing a wide variety of constituencies are saying is this a good bill and a good first step. There will be improvements over time. Some will be debated this year, and some will come up five and even ten years from now. But this is a solid foundation, and once the reconciliation bill that passed the House passes the Senate, we can start showing the American people what it looks like when the public goes up against big insurance and corporate lobbyists and special interests and wins.”
UPDATE: Via TPM, here's a collection of some of the ridiculous amendments the Republicans are introducing. The idea is to get Democrats on the record as voting against things like repealing "the government takeover of health care" (there isn't one) or helping "the President keep his promise that Americans who like the health care coverage they have now can keep it" (not a risk) . Then come election season, Republicans make ads taking the Democrats' votes out of context. Classy.
It was free pastry morning at Starbucks, and it's free cone day at Ben & Jerry's. (h/t ts)
The Republicans are giving a press conference right now spewing the same bogus claims about the health care bill that they've been clinging to all along. I love how they keep saying the American people don't want this bill when they're responsible for spreading the lies about the bill that make some American people think they don't want it.
When the American people learn the truth about what's in the bill, they like reform. And what they supposedly don't like - the Republican description of the bill - doesn't actually exist.
WASHINGTON – A beaming President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed a historic $938 billion health care overhaul that guarantees coverage for 32 million uninsured Americans and will touch nearly every citizen's life, presiding over the biggest shift in U.S. domestic policy since the 1960s and capping a divisive, yearlong debate that could define the November elections.
As an aside for those who are wondering why I am not over the moon at the moment, Frates explains:
With health care reform now the law of the land, the Senate will begin debating a package of changes to the law at 2:15 p.m. today.
House Democrats, wary of voting for what they saw as a politically toxic Senate bill, insisted that the Senate bill be altered through additional legislation after it became law. Democrats are using the budget reconciliation process to make the changes because it bypasses the Republicans' filibuster threat. But GOP leaders plan to try to derail the bill with procedural challenges.
President Obama is going to sign the Senate health care bill into law in about 15 minutes. It's a big deal.
However... this will all be an even bigger deal when the reconciliation bill successfully makes it through the Senate and the President signs that into law too.
The reconciliation bill improves the Senate bill - in a big way - by making health care more affordable, fixing the excise tax, getting us closer to fair financing by increasing taxes on people who make more than $250,000/year, closing the doughnut hole for seniors, killing the special deals, and giving the states more money for Medicaid.
When that's done, I will be able to breathe a true sigh of relief and celebrate.
We're debuting a new TV ad today. It will be up in 14 districts tomorrow. Here's the press release. Here's Richard's key quote:
“From now through the rest of the year, we’ll be telling the same story all around the country. By passing health insurance reform, Congress stood up against the special interests in Washington and their political allies and did what’s right for families and small businesses."
*Insurance companies will be barred from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Lifetime coverage limits will be eliminated and annual limits are to be restricted.
*Insurers will be barred from excluding children for coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
*Young adults will be able to stay on their parents' health plans until the age of 26. Many health plans currently drop dependents from coverage when they turn 19 or finish college.
*Uninsured adults with a pre-existing conditions will be able to obtain health coverage through a new program that will expire once new insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014.
*A temporary reinsurance program is created to help companies maintain health coverage for early retirees between the ages of 55 and 64. This also expires in 2014.
*Medicare drug beneficiaries who fall into the "doughnut hole" coverage gap will get a $250 rebate. The bill eventually closes that gap which currently begins after $2,700 is spent on drugs. Coverage starts again after $6,154 is spent.
*A tax credit becomes available for some small businesses to help provide coverage for workers.
*A 10 percent tax on indoor tanning services that use ultraviolet lamps goes into effect on July 1.
WHAT HAPPENS IN 2011
*Medicare provides 10 percent bonus payments to primary care physicians and general surgeons.
*Medicare beneficiaries will be able to get a free annual wellness visit and personalized prevention plan service. New health plans will be required to cover preventive services with little or no cost to patients.
*A new program under the Medicaid plan for the poor goes into effect in October that allows states to offer home and community based care for the disabled that might otherwise require institutional care.
*Payments to insurers offering Medicare Advantage services are frozen at 2010 levels. These payments are to be gradually reduced to bring them more in line with traditional Medicare.
*Employers are required to disclose the value of health benefits on employees' W-2 tax forms.
*An annual fee is imposed on pharmaceutical companies according to market share. The fee does not apply to companies with sales of $5 million or less.
WHAT HAPPENS IN 2012
*Physician payment reforms are implemented in Medicare to enhance primary care services and encourage doctors to form "accountable care organizations" to improve quality and efficiency of care.
*An incentive program is established in Medicare for acute care hospitals to improve quality outcomes.
*The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the government programs, begin tracking hospital readmission rates and puts in place financial incentives to reduce preventable readmissions.
WHAT HAPPENS IN 2013
*A national pilot program is established for Medicare on payment bundling to encourage doctors, hospitals and other care providers to better coordinate patient care.
*The threshold for claiming medical expenses on itemized tax returns is raised to 10 percent from 7.5 percent of income. The threshold remains at 7.5 percent for the elderly through 2016.
*The Medicare payroll tax is raised to 2.35 percent from 1.45 percent for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married couples with incomes over $250,000. The tax is imposed on some investment income for that income group.
*A 2.9 percent excise tax in imposed on the sale of medical devices. Anything generally purchased at the retail level by the public is excluded from the tax.
WHAT HAPPENS IN 2014
*State health insurance exchanges for small businesses and individuals open.
*Most people will be required to obtain health insurance coverage or pay a fine if they don't. Healthcare tax credits become available to help people with incomes up to 400 percent of poverty purchase coverage on the exchange.
*Health plans no longer can exclude people from coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
*Employers with 50 or more workers who do not offer coverage face a fine of $2,000 for each employee if any worker receives subsidized insurance on the exchange. The first 30 employees aren't counted for the fine.
*Health insurance companies begin paying a fee based on their market share.
WHAT HAPPENS IN 2015
*Medicare creates a physician payment program aimed at rewarding quality of care rather than volume of services.
WHAT HAPPENS IN 2018
*An excise tax on high cost employer-provided plans is imposed. The first $27,500 of a family plan and $10,200 for individual coverage is exempt from the tax. Higher levels are set for plans covering retirees and people in high risk professions.
We've still got to get the reconciliation bill through the Senate and the President's got to sign the bills into law, but tonight's vote is the first of those three final steps.
It is history.
I'm watching CSPAN and eating Cheez-Its. They are my celebratory snack of choice.
See you back here after the vote.
UPDATE: Richard's in good company tonight. Live Pulse:
In Pelosi's box tonight
Speaker’s Gallery guests:
1. Mr. Pelosi 2. Nancy Corinne Prowda (daughter) 3. Alexandra Pelosi (daughter) 4. Michiel Vos (son-in-law) 5. Gordon Witman, PICO 6. Richard Kirsch – Health Care for America Now (HCAN) 7. Robert Hall – American Academy of Pediatrics 8. Rich Trumka – AFL-CIO 9. Dr. Willarda Edwards – National Medical Association 10. Ari Matusiak, President – Young Invincibles Want Change 11. Christina Romer – Council of Economic Advisors 12. Mark Duggan – Council of Economic Advisors 13. Zeke Emanuel – Senior Advisor for Health Policy, OMB 14. Jason Furman – National Economic Council Advisor 15. Nancy Ann DeParle – White House Office of Health Care Reform
Cool locale, but I bet they don't offer Cheez-Its.
UPDATE 2: Hotline and SFGate posted the guest list too.
1. Blue nail polish is tougher to remove than you might expect.
2. NPR is not above using bizarre "whip" sound effects to illustrate the process of locking down Congressional votes. I'll link to it if I can find the clip. No luck yet.
3. Filling out the Census form is really, really simple.
4. If you outnumber the crazies 50 to 1 - as in 50 people for reform and one guy against - some in the media will still feel compelled to imply that both sides were equally represented. Two reports from the exact same rally:
NBC 8: "People both for and against the health care plan are out in front of Tim Holden's office..."
CBS 21: "There was just one person at the rally today [who was] against health care reform."
5. See illustration above. Not learned but relearned.
All this week, we are debuting videos of insurance abuse survivors telling their stories to prove - once again - why Congress must vote for health care reform. Today's video features Susan Braig from Altadena, CA. She is a breast cancer survivor who is struggling financially because her health insurer has defined cancer as "chronic" not “catastrophic.”
Yesterday, we featured Matt Masterson from Virginia Beach, VA who’s been financially destroyed by medical costs. He’s only 40, and his son has diabetes. Matt says of his 17-year-old son, “He’s looking at a lifetime of hardship and battle” if we don’t do something about our health care system now.
And the first video this week spotlighted Marcelas Owens – the 11-year-old from Seattle who lost his mother because she couldn’t afford to see a doctor when she needed care the most.
Tuesday night on MSNBC’s Countdown, Lawrence O’Donnell and Chris Hayes addressed the right-wing attacks (Beck, Malkin, and Limbaugh) on little Marcelas. Yup, Rush, Glenn, and Michelle think it's totally ok to attack an 11-year old boy. That clip is here.
In other outrageous news today, Noam Levey reports in the Los Angeles Times that WellPoint, back in 2007, promised to spend $30 million to help the uninsured. They've spent $6.2 million while making $10.5 billion in profits, paying their CEOs at least $28.5 million, and buying back $12.1 billion of their own stock. Here's our release with the details and Richard's quote on the issue:
“Ten billion dollars in profits and $28 million in CEO compensation, and yet they couldn’t meet their promise to spend $30 million over three years on the uninsured? It’s no wonder that Americans understand the insurance industry is lying when it says it’s for reform,” said Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now. “They have zero interest in doing anything to expand coverage of the uninsured and only talk about it when it helps them score political points. What else are they hiding? How many stories like this do we have to uncover before we acknowledge they just can’t be trusted?
Two fun ones. First, TDS infiltrated the AHIP conference at the Ritz last week. For a little bit, at least. Check out the good HCAN protest footage off the top:
We are out with new ads today in 11 districts urging members who voted yes in November to vote yes again and encouraging members who voted no last time around to change their minds:
We've gotten some great coverage so far this morning from
The progressive groups HCAN, SEIU, AFSCME, Catholics United and MoveOn are spending $1.7 million to run ads in 17 House districts between today and Friday. The ads both support members who voted “yes” on the House bill in November and urge “no” votes to flip. A technical note, because MoveOn spends PAC money, its commercials will air separately.
Left ramps up ads, too: In an effort to pressure wavering House Dems, Health Care for America Now is going up with a big $1.4 million buy in 11 districts, calling on Dems to “listen to US, not the insurance companies”:
The other major player will be a group led by Health Care for America Now (HCAN) as well as two major labor unions -- Service Employees International Union and the American Federation for State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). That coalition will run ads in 16 Democratic-districts hammering insurance companies and urging Members not to give in to them by voting against the bill.
"We're on the cusp of making history, and now is the time members of Congress must stand strong and side with us, not the insurance companies," HCAN's National Campaign Manager Richard Kirsch said in a statement. "The health insurance companies have unleashed their armies of lobbyists on Washington and have sunk millions into TV ads designed to derail reform, but Congress can and should ignore the corporate fear mongering and side with the American public."
The ads will run in the districts of Reps. Jason Altmire (PA), John Boccieri (OH), Jim Costa (CA), Steve Driehaus (IL), Brad Ellsworth (IN), Bill Foster (IL), Suzanne Kosmas (FL), Harry Mitchell (AZ), Alan Mollohan (WV), Scott Murphy (NY) and Earl Pomeroy (ND).
The union-backed Health Care for America Now is launching a $1.2 million ad campaign that will begin airing in 11 Congressional districts today and in three to five more districts on Wednesday. The ads target a number of lawmakers who voted against the health care bill that was approved by the House last year, including Reps. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), John Boccieri (D-Ohio) and Suzanne Kosmas (D-Fla.). The spots highlight rate hikes by health insurance companies, telling viewers that “if the insurance companies win, we lose.”
While HCAN had retreated from running ads recently, spokeswoman Jacki Schechner said, “I think it is fair to say with the date of the vote becoming more certain, we recognized there were places where it would be helpful to get our message out.”
Another late spot from Health Care for America Now, AFSCME, SEIU and Catholics United, a liberal Catholic group, focuses on insurance company premium hikes.
They're reportedly spending $1.4 million on the ad, to target in 17 swing Democrats.
You can watch all the ads online here. The full press release is here.
Health Care for America Now, which supports the overhaul, is launching ads Tuesday along with the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and Catholics United. The groups spent $1.4 million on ads telling House members who voted yes in November to vote yes again, and also on ads urging those who voted no to vote yes now.
"We're on the cusp of making history, and now is the time members of Congress must stand strong and side with us, not the insurance companies," said Richard Kirsch, HCAN's national campaign manager.
Updated at 11:10 p.m. ET: Another liberal coalition has just announced a $1.4 million ad buy in support of health care legislation.
The Health Care for America Now, Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and Catholics United are underwriting the ads, which will start today. They will run in the districts of members of Congress viewed as swing votes on the health care bill.
A House vote on the health care package could come as early as Friday, but it is still unclear whether Democrats have enough votes to support it. A collection of pro-reform groups today are rolling out a new $1.4 million ad campaign this week in 11 key districts to coincide with the expected timing of the vote. The ads are sponsored by Health Care for America Now, SEIU, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and Catholics United.
"After a year of debate, and decades of knowing that the system needs to be fixed, it's time to put health reform to a vote to see who sides with the American people and who sides with the insurance industry," AFSCME International President Gerald McEntee said in a statement. "Let's get this done - now."
I don't write a lot about my personal life for good reason, but I engaged in a little drunk texting Saturday night, and I'm sufficiently mortified.
Friends shouldn't let friends text drunk.
It was nothing of TFLN (nsfw) magnitude, but it was enough for me to research the possibility of installing a breathalyzer on my berry. It'd be genius. Blow more than a .08, and the sucker locks itself down.
Where to start? We had a protest on Tuesday. More than 5,000 people turned out to let the insurance companies know enough is enough and to let Congress know it's time to take action and get reform done:
Here are just four of the gazillion print and online clips:
Dozens of health care activists are protesting in the nation's capital against what they call an abusive health insurance industry...
We had at least 5,000 people there, and the AP's first write-thru said "dozens." This is especially comical because when we had more than 10,000 back on June 25th, the AP wrote hundreds and refused to issue a correction. I don't expect a reporter will necessarily take my word for it on an exact crowd count, but there is a sizable difference between dozens and thousands. When you're on the scene, you can kind of tell. After two of us called to complain, a later write corrected the record:
Organizers with Health Care for America Now say thousands came in from across the country for the protest.
On Wednesday, 24 health insurance abuse survivors "testified" in a Congressional forum on the Hill. CNN did a small piece about it, but the video's not online yet. I'll post if it turns up.
Also yesterday, Richard took on a guy from AHIP on NewsHour. That clip is here. My favorite exchange was this one:
JIM LEHRER: But is it not a fact that -- that the premiums are going up? And aren't -- I thought the records -- the recent reports showed that profits are up in your -- in your major health insurance companies?
MIKE TUFFIN: In the past year they were up. In 2008, according to "Fortune" magazine, our city profits were 2.2 percent, one of perhaps the smallest of all health care stakeholders, and very near the bottom of the list of the industries "Fortune" tracks.
Last year, they were about 3.5 percent. So, that's a 50 percent increase from about 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent. Meanwhile, other sectors in health care have margins of 15 percent, 20 percent, 25 percent. So, if profits in health care are the problem, you're not looking at the right place.
JIM LEHRER: Not looking at the right place?
RICHARD KIRSCH: Absolutely, we are looking at the right place.
And I went to business school, and he's talking about return on sales. And if I tried to use that in my finance class, I would have gotten an F. What shareholders look at is return on equity under investment. And for the health insurance industry, it was 16 percent. That's higher than cable TV. It's higher than cell phones. It's higher than beer.
Today, little 11-year-old Marcelas Owens appeared at a press conference with Majority Leader Reid and Senators Durbin, Schumer, and Murray. This is Marcelas in Sen. Murray's office on Tuesday:
He did a great job in front of all the cameras today, but the media was infuriating. The Senators all made the point that health care reform is not about procedure but people, people like Marcelas who lost his mom because she couldn't get the health care she needed. Marcelas got up and spoke about his mom and why he's continuing to fight for health care reform. It was genuine and compelling. Then they opened the presser up for questions, and every single one was about procedure. Every...single...one.
First, a good write about reconciliation totally in line with our release from Friday. Salon:
[T]hough you wouldn't know it from listening to Republicans, reconciliation is not some loophole that somehow gets around a constitutional requirement that legislation pass with 60 votes. There's no such requirement; until the GOP started threatening filibusters against just about everything the Senate did (setting themselves on pace for a new record in the process), bills routinely passed with 51 votes, the same number that a reconciliation measure will require. And the reconciliation process has a long history in the Senate.
(...)
But the biggest way Republicans are winning the early spin war is by making it sound like the entire healthcare bill would be passed with "only" a 51-vote majority, instead of the 60 votes the GOP insists are required. In fact, the Senate has already passed a healthcare reform bill, with 60 votes. And the House has already passed a bill, as well. The only thing Democrats plan to use reconciliation for is to enact changes to the bills that already went through the usual process. And most of those changes are things everyone -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- would agree make the bill better.
(...)
"Reconciliation isn't subjective; there's actually facts to back up the fact that it's not controversial," said Jacki Schechner, a spokeswoman for the group. "Democrats should be talking more about what it is and the extent to which it should be used."
Then last night, the WSJ comes out with this from WellPoint CEO Angela Braly on soaring premiums (emphasis mine):
WellPoint Inc. Chief Executive Angela Braly is facing her biggest test yet as the nation's largest health insurer comes under fire for its plans to raise rates as much as 39% in California.
So far, Ms. Braly has chosen to fight back. Instead of issuing a Toyota-style apology, she is turning her critics' argument around, citing rising health-care costs driven by doctors and hospitals, which she says aren't addressed by the current health-overhaul bills.
(...)
Investors said they are relieved that the company is standing by the increases. Without them, Ms. Braly argues, the company can't break even in the risky business of selling insurance to individuals, which has become more difficult as the economy has caused healthier people to forgo buying the policies.
She's full of it. We're releasing a report at 11:30am today that will show just how full of it she is. I'll have a link up here when it's public. UPDATE: Here's the link to the press release, a recording of the conference call, and the report.
Politico's got two HCAN stories today. One on the AHIP conference next week and the letter we sent to friends and allies asking that they not participate:
Health Care for America Now sent letters Monday to speakers invited to serve as panelists at America’s Health Insurance Plan’s annual meeting next Tuesday, urging them to pull out. “The insurance industry has been engaged in a duplicitous and cynical campaign around health reform, fueling the congressional deadlock,” says the letter signed by Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager for HCAN, a group that favors comprehensive health care reform. “We must stand in their way, not legitimize their voice.”
HCAN also warned that activists from its group and a host of other pro-reform allies are planning a major protest of the event at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. “The AHIP conference will be blocked, as civic leaders, victims of insurance abuses and other engage in a mass citizen arrest” of the insurance industry, Kirsch writes.
And then Chris Frates has a good write on how we're stepping up action to urge the President and Congress to stand with us and get the job done:
“It’s very clear to me that the president and the congressional leadership want to get this done, and what we’re going to help be is the wind behind their backs, by showing how deeply the American people want to get this done,” said HCAN’s Richard Kirsch. “Congress really has a choice when you strip everything away: if they’re going to take the side of people who can’t afford coverage or if they’re going to take the side of an industry that’s ruining people’s lives and bankrupting them.”
In other words, HCAN plans to frame the final push as a struggle between the people dying because of a desperately broken system and the insurance companies that profit from the status quo.
March 9th is fast approaching. If you want to get in on the anti-AHIP action, click here.
I'm slowly coming to grips with the reality that daily blogging is no longer feasible - at least for the time being. I'm short-staffed and overloaded at work, and the last thing I want to do at the end of the day is get back online.
I've always been so proud of my ability to keep up this site and definitely have felt guilty as the quantity and quality of posting has been tapering off.
That said, I still intend to make an effort. I just expect my contributions will be less prolific and slightly less profound than those to which you've grown accustomed.
But enough of the caveats. On to the content.
Here's some stuff you may have missed in the past few days:
First, I did watch the Health Care Summit in its entirety. Doing so was more complicated than it needed to be because where I was watching didn't get CSPAN-3, and no one cable network would carry the thing from start to finish. They all kept cutting away to give us totally useless analysis and insight. To call it frustrating would be an understatement. The point of the summit was to present the public with an unfiltered look at the conversation about health care reform between the President and Congress. Neither CNN nor Fox nor MSNBC could manage to keep their staff off the air and their opinions out of it.
Second, here's the statement we put out in response to the Summit:
“We appreciate President Obama's attempt to reach out to Republicans one more time, but today's bipartisan summit proved the GOP is committed to little else than repeating the same stale talking points.
We need reform to be sure that Americans are not left out or priced out of the best health care available. While the President and Congressional Democrats clearly understand our health care system is broken, Republicans at the summit showed they are grossly out of touch with the everyday struggles of working Americans when it comes to their being able to get the health care they need.
It's now time for the President and Democrats to finalize a bill, and with or without their Republican colleagues, pass legislation that works for us – not the insurance companies – and gives us all good health care we can afford."
Third, we pushed out another important bit of information on Friday. It's about reconciliation and how most of the media is getting it very wrong:
The idea that reconciliation is unprecedented or a subversion of Senate rules is wrong. It’s also wrong to say “health care reform” will be passed through reconciliation. In fact, the vast majority of health care reform has already passed the Senate despite an attempted Republican filibuster that forced repeated cloture votes in December.
If President Obama and Democratic leadership in Congress decide to use the budget reconciliation process to complete health care reform, they won't be using it for the entire bill. In fact, they will only be using it for a narrow list of improvements to the bill, in lieu of a formal conference, which the Republicans have promised to obstruct.
And finally, we are ramping up for a big anti-insurance action here in DC on March 9th. Now is the time to get in gear and join us. Click here to find out more.
President Obama signed the reconciliation bill into law today. Reform came a little late (we aimed to wrap in 2009) and came up a little short (i bet on the public option being in the final bill and lost), but all in all, we done good. 
