Obama Pushes for Health Reform at Summit
At White House Forum, President Says Health Care Changes Needed to Help Fix Economy
By
Todd Zwillich
WebMD Health News
Reviewed By
Louise Chang, MD
March 5, 2009 -- President Barack Obama cast his sweeping health care reform
plans in terms of help for the faltering economy at a White House forum.
The president told a group of lawmakers, doctors, health industry
representatives, and patient advocates that controlling health costs was vital
to getting American households and businesses back on their feet. He said the
administration will seek to enact new laws expanding health coverage and
controlling costs "by the end of this year."
"By a wide margin, the biggest threat to our nation's balance sheet is
the skyrocketing cost of health care. It's not even close," the president
told the group in an East Room speech at the beginning of the conference.
Obama has already proposed to set aside more than $630 billion over the next
decade to help fund reform efforts, which could include subsidized insurance
for middle-income people who can't afford premiums and an expanded coverage
through Medicaid or Medicare.
Beyond that, reform plans remain sketchy. Thursday's White House forum was
more of a confidence-building exercise than a policy debate. Lawmakers from
both parties met with White House officials, business CEOs, consumer advocates,
and medical society presidents to air their priorities in front of TV
cameras.
Bipartisan Outreach
White House officials say they're mindful of the failure of a Clinton
Administration health reform effort in 1994. Lawmakers, including many in
President Clinton's own party, rebelled when the White House tried to push
through sweeping reforms with what was seen as little consultation from Capitol
Hill or industry stakeholders.
"We are not going to Congress with a preset plan," said Melody
Barnes, the White House domestic policy advisory. "The process has to be
transparent," she said in an interview with the C-SPAN television
network.
Participants in organized side discussions at the conference talked about
topics that included preventive medicine and wellness programs, reform of
payment incentives for doctors and hospitals, expansion of medical research,
and improvement of childhood nutrition.
"We actually have to put prevention into the system from the
beginning," said Daniel Smith, president and CEO of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
The White House outreach effort earned early -- though guarded -- praise
from key Republicans, many of whom were instrumental in opposing the Clinton
Administration's reform efforts.
"If this is real, that's great," said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas,
senior Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which presides
over large parts of the health care industry. "If this is a real process
and we're listened to then folks like me will really participate," he
said.
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., senior Republican on the Senate Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions Committee, said the political parties already agree on 80%
of the policies needed to control health costs and expand access to
insurance.
"The other 20% is the part that's been in the weeds for the last 12 or
15 years," he said. "What you have to do with that other 20% is find a
third way and that's what we're going to have to do on health care."
Cost vs. Coverage
Private insurance premiums for the average family of four now top $12,600
per year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. That's a huge drag on
household incomes and also on employers, who usually pay the bulk of that
cost.
At the same time 46 million Americans have no health insurance, with tens of
millions more classified as underinsured because their coverage does not fully
protect them financially if they get sick.
President Obama says his first goal is to rein in costs through a focus on
healthy living and prevention, improved health information technology, and more
research into which treatments and tests work best for the money.
But that could run into some opposition, even from the president's
Democratic allies. Many of them want to make universal health coverage a
priority.
"I think we all recognize that we can't control cost unless everybody's
covered," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Energy
and Commerce Committee.
Congress has already begun work on crafting reform plans. Those debates are
currently behind closed doors in task forces set up by various committees.
Lawmakers are expected to begin formulating legislation in the spring or
summer.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, lead Republican on the Senate Finance
Committee, praised the president for reaching out but also warned that the
polite discussion at the White House could be masking a potentially difficult
debate.
"What we've talked about is easy," Grassley said. "It sounds
like there are no problems here."
SOURCES: President Barack Obama. Melody Barnes, White House Domestic Policy Advisors. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas. Rep. Henry Waxman D-Calif. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. Daniel Smith, president and CEO, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation: "Employer Health Benefits 2008."
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