Health Care Summit: What do you think of this letter?

Assuming the President is sincere about moving forward on health care in a bipartisan way, does that mean he will agree to start over so that we can develop a bill that is truly worthy of the support and confidence of the American people? Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today that the President is “absolutely not” resetting the legislative process for health care. If the starting point for this meeting is the job-killing bills the American people have already soundly rejected, Republicans would rightly be reluctant to participate.

Assuming the President is sincere about moving forward in a bipartisan way, does that mean he has taken off the table the idea of relying solely on Democratic votes and jamming through health care reform by way of reconciliation? As the President has noted recently, Democrats continue to hold large majorities in the House and Senate, which means they can attempt to pass a health care bill at any time through the reconciliation process. Eliminating the possibility of reconciliation would represent an important show of good faith to Republicans and the American people.

If the President intends to present any kind of legislative proposal at this discussion, will he make it available to members of Congress and the American people at least 72 hours beforehand? Our ability to move forward in a bipartisan way through this discussion rests on openness and transparency.

Will the President include in this discussion congressional Democrats who have opposed the House and Senate health care bills? This bipartisan discussion should reflect the bipartisan opposition to both the House bill and the kickbacks and sweetheart deals in the Senate bill.

Will the President be inviting officials and lawmakers from the states to participate in this discussion? As you may know, legislation has been introduced in at least 36 state legislatures, similar to the proposal just passed by the Democratic-controlled Virginia State Senate, providing that no individual may be compelled to purchase health insurance. Additionally, governors of both parties have raised concerns about the additional costs that will be passed along to states under both the House and Senate bills

The President has also mentioned his commitment to have “experts” participate in health care discussions. Will the Feb. 25 discussion involve such “experts?”

Will those experts include the actuaries at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), who have determined that the both the House and Senate health care bill raise costs – just the opposite of their intended effect – and jeopardize seniors’ access to high-quality care by imposing massive Medicare cuts? Will those experts include the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, which has stated that the GOP alternative would reduce premiums by up to 10 percent? Also, will Republicans be permitted to invite health care experts to participate?

Other Questions asked in this letter include

Will the special interest groups that the Obama Administration has cut deals with be included in this televised discussion?

Will the President require that any and all future health care discussions, including those held on Capitol Hill, meet this common-sense standard of openness and transparency?

 

They should just toss it and start over.If they do not then just how in the hell is it 'bipartisan' when the repubs were shut out of what was written? Obama and crew should stop trying to cater to the minority far lefties who want big government control of our health care and work on something the majority can be satisfied with.No more sly moves of sneaking provisions in that will cause folks to lose their private insurance...no mandated purchasing of health insurance...no special interest bs..no taxing us for several years for no benifit from the bill.I am sorry but this whole bill is peice of crap and serves one purpose and one purpose only CONTROL over the American people.

Not only are they NOT going to start over....... Huffington post is proudly posting that Obama plans to 'Accelerate' Health Care Reform After Bipartisan Meeting.

Obama needs to get a grip and understand the people dont want THIS bill. They need to start over. The other day when he was interviewed he also admitted he didnt take into account what republicans had asked for and was going to listen to what they are asking for. There are 60 million republicans in the nation and to ignore them is a big mistake.

Grly I have read things such as some democrats in their states at townhalls threatening folks with reconcilliation STILL.