White House Considers Drafting Its Own Health Reform Bill

[bte]

They say, if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself, and President Obama may be taking the saying to heart.

One of the hallmarks of Obama's push for universal health coverage and health insurance reform has been his political strategy of outlining broad goals for the legislation and leaving the details to lawmakers -- a contrast to President Clinton's more directive approach, which ended in failure when Congress rejected the legislation.

But on Friday, the Obama White House signaled that it may be time to intervene. Months of wrangling in Congress over several competing bills has yet to bring consensus on a final plan, and now the Obama administration is considering whether to put forward a health care bill of its own.

"The president has been reviewing all of the various legislative proposals, but no decision has been made about whether formal legislation will be presented," Linda Douglass, White House communications adviser on health care policy, told FOX News.

The news of a potential White House bill marked only the latest twist in the heated debate over an overhaul of the health care system.

Obama is preparing to make his biggest pitch yet on Wednesday, when he addresses a joint session of Congress on the issue.

Meanwhile, one of the key negotiators in the Senate said Friday that he expected a bill "soon" after working with members of both parties on a bipartisan compromise.

Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., held a nearly two-hour teleconference with his small group of negotiators, who call themselves the "Bipartisan Six." Afterward, Baucus was careful to leave the door open to a long-sought deal, but he clearly signaled the time has come for him to move ahead.

"I am committed to getting health care reform done -- done soon and done right," Baucus said in a statement. He is considering making a formal proposal to the group of negotiators.

Republicans have complained that the Democrats' plan would be too costly and would amount to a government takeover of the health care system.

House liberals, on the other hand, pleaded with Obama on Friday to push for creation of a government-run health care program, fearing the president is too eager to compromise with Republicans and conservative Democrats to get a bill.

In a phone call from the Camp David, Md., presidential retreat, Obama spoke to leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and other liberal-leaning House groups. Caucus leader Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., said the lawmakers expressed their commitment to creation of a government-run plan to compete with private health insurers. On Thursday, they sent Obama a letter saying they could not support a health bill that lacked such a so-called "public option."
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Isn't it about time that the White House drafted its own bill? I would think that he should have done this all along. Wouldn't it have been beneficial for the House, Senate, and White House to draft their own bill separately then compare and contrast between the three bills.

[hippifried]

Isn't it about time that the White House drafted its own bill? I would think that he should have done this all along. Wouldn't it have been beneficial for the House, Senate, and White House to draft their own bill separately then compare and contrast between the three bills.
No. Absolutely not. The Whitehouse isn't empowered to draft legislation. There's a process, & this is something the Congress has to work out. The Whitehouse isn't sitting on the sidelines. They have a huge part of the staff working the Congress as we speak. But basically, all they can do is lobby, although they do have a decided advantage over other lobbyists. If they try to draft their own bill, everything stops. All the work so far goes in the round file, & nothing happens for another 20 years because Congress is pissed at the attempted usurpation. This is just more republican wishful thinking.

[techi]

I agree, the Whitehouse can provide general leadership but the Congress needs to write the bill.

Fair or not, some on the left are already pointing the finger at Obama for the Baucus bill.
Mad at Max: Direct some anger at Max Baucus toward the president
http://www.slate.com/id/2228709/

It seems like a bad bill to me. It seems to lack needed cost controls. Certainly no public option.

I think the entire debate has to be around healthcare either being a priviledge for those that choose to pay or a right for all citizens.

Instead, our Congress is crafting it as a right for all to be forced to pay (or suffer IRS fines). Seems like a recipe for insurance companies to collect as much as possible from the entire public. At this point a single payer system funded by a VAT sounds much more civilized. If everyone has to pay, might as well cutout the overhead of our middlemen insurance companies.

If the current Congress cannot deliver a bill that constitutes progress then it might be merciful if another hot topic allows us to gracefully push the issue onto the backburner until a better solution is available.

[hippifried]

I don't like the idea of mandatory insurance of any kind. It's a tax by private industry. There's no constraint, & accountability is only to stockholders. Everybody talks choices, but there aren't any. Insurance is a hedge bet, & people shouldn't be forced to bet against themselves.

I have a big problem with this whole healthcare debate being framed in the context of insurance companies in the first place. How did that become the standard? Whatever became of trust funds & cooperatives? Is Medicare really an insurance policy? Are Cigna or other managed care providers insurance companies? Isn't the pooling of financial resources to handle specific situations just a form of basic capitalism whether there's a profit motive or not? There's a memetic skew in the thought process here.

The Baucus bill is sadly lacking. Maybe it should be looked at as a first step. I have a feeling that it's going to be a nightmare that'll have to be readdressed in the next Congress when it falls short, & every 2 years after that until we end up with something that actually works. Personally, I don't see any reason to prop up the insurance industry at all. They need to work within whatever system we decide on, & they will. If they can't, why do we need them?

[hippifried]

Oops, double post.

[techi]

On the topic of what the Whitehouse should and should not be doing:

Should our President be acting as gatekeeper to State Governor's seats?

Obama: Paterson should quit NY Governor reelection race
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/19/obama-paterson-should-qui_n_292526.html

It just seems odd to me....

[hippifried]

Presidents do that all the time. The President is the head of the party, & has an interest in expandingor holding the number of seats held at all levels. This is just politics & political advice. It's nothing new.

[techi]

Thanks, that's exactly what I wanted to know. I assumed that the head of the DNC would handle stuff like this... Terry McAuliffe, Howard Dean, Tim Kaine etc... But so long as there's a string of precedence.....

[hippifried]

They all talk to each other. The President's usually pretty busy, & only gets directly involved when there's a need for that kind of clout. The Whitehouse is always kept fully informed of the political ins & outs, & the President is briefed constantly. That's how politics works. The President has to be a politician, & be real good at it, in order to have any effect at all.