Wither healthcare reform when one host extends a hand and the other the finger?
House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D, CA) said this morning that the $80 billion deal reached last month by PhRMA with Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus does not have House support and is losing the White House's backing. "The White House is not bound. They told us they're not bound to that agreement," Waxman said at a National Journal breakfast. "We're certainly not bound by that agreement."
I suppose that goes for hospitals as well -- and doctors.
And what about Teddy?
In response to a question from Senator Gregg in the HELP hearing, CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf just expressed strong skepticism that the Kennedy/Dodd bill would bend the cost curve for health care. In fact, quite the opposite. Elmendorf said, “This bill will add substantially to the long-term spending burden for health care on the Federal government.”
This appears to pose a significant problem since President Obama said in his most recent press conference, “And I've said very clearly: If any bill arrives from Congress that is not controlling costs, that's not a bill I can support.”
No laughing matter.
House majority leader Steny Hoyer (D, MD) said Tuesday that the healthcare reform bill now pending in Congress would garner very few votes if lawmakers actually had to read the entire bill before voting on it.
"If every member pledged to not vote for it if they hadn't read it in its entirely, I think we would have very few votes."
Mr. Hoyer was responding to a question on whether he supported a pledge that asks members of the Congress to read the entire bill before voting on it and also make the full text of the bill available to the public for 72 hours before a vote.
In fact, Hoyer found the idea of the pledge humorous, laughing as he responded to the question. “I’m laughing because I don’t know how long this bill is going to be, but it’s going to be a very long bill,” he said.
Cliff Notes. Not acceptable in high school. Not acceptable in Congress. Not acceptable for healthcare reform.
Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization promoting innovative solutions that advance medical progress, reduce health disparities, extend life and make health care more affordable, preventive and patient-centered. CMPI also provides the public, policymakers and the media a reliable source of independent scientific analysis on issues ranging from personalized medicine, food and drug safety, health care reform and comparative effectiveness.
