Health Care Blog

A White House First at 5:30: Live Chat with Secretary Sebelius and Senator Whitehouse

Posted by Jesse Lee on October 1, 2009 at 2:00 PM EDT
As the debate on health insurance reform rolls on, we at the White House want to keep finding ways to reach out to Americans all over the country. We’re excited to introduce what we hope will be a new series that will allow us to engage different regions and states, hear their perspectives, and address their questions.

For today's first installment, the White House and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will welcome Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island for a live online video chat at 5:30PM EDT. The Secretary and the Senator will sit down here at the White House in a session streamed live at WhiteHouse.gov to answer the questions that the Senator hears most frequently from Rhode Islanders.

And of course, as we like to do around here, in addition to being streamed live at WhiteHouse.gov, the Secretary and the Senator and will also take questions live through the White House’s video chat Facebook application, where folks can be a part of the conversation as it is happening.
- Watch the session live at WhiteHouse.gov/live
- Watch, discuss and engage through Facebook
UPDATE: We had some streaming issues, but got a full recording with plenty of questions from both Facebook and Rhode Island. Watch the full video:

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Word from the White House: Reality Check on Taxes, Illegal Immigrants, Rationing

Posted by Jesse Lee on October 1, 2009 at 10:49 AM EDT

It's no secret that institutions of all stripes focus their communications on certain messages day to day. We thought it would all be a little more open and transparent if we went ahead and published what our focus will be for the day, along with any related articles, reports or documents.
Supporting report: "Hidden Health Tax' for Family Health Coverage Climbed to $1,017 in 2008," Families USA, 5/28/09

Supporting Video: "Reform will stop 'rationing" - not increase it,' Reality Check with Kavita Patel

Health Reform Reality Check: Taxes, Undocumented Immigrants, Rationing

·         Right now, tens of millions of Americans live without health care coverage – one injury or illness away from bankruptcy. Tens of thousands join their ranks each week. And skyrocketing costs are squeezing family budgets, threatening businesses viability, consuming state and local budgets, and exploding our national deficit.

·         Yet, despite the overwhelming evidence that the status quo is unsustainable, there are some in Washington who still wish to kill reform at all costs. And they've spread baseless rumors to scare the American people about what reform would mean for them.

·         Here is a reality check on a few more of their favorite attacks:

Attack: Health insurance reform will raise taxes on the middle class.

Ø Reality Check: The real health tax in our health care system is a hidden tax of $1,000 that the millions of Americans who get insurance through their job or buy it on their own are already paying each year to cover the costs of caring for Americans without health insurance.

o   And if the people making these attacks get their way by killing reform, that hidden tax will only continue to grow by the day as more and more people lose their insurance.

o   What President Obama has proposed isn't a tax. It’s a law requiring people who can afford health insurance to purchase it, so that the rest of us don’t get stuck footing the bill – and a penalty for violating that law.

§ People are required to obey the speed limit and have to pay a penalty if they get caught speeding? Does anyone consider that a tax?

§ People are required to have car insurance and can be fined if they are caught without it. Is that a tax?

Attack: President Obama’s health insurance reform plan will cover undocumented immigrants.

Ø Reality Check: There are some in Washington who wish to preserve the status quo at all costs, and who are looking to create any issues that will increase opposition to reform. But this isn’t really about immigrants – it's about health care.

o   Undocumented immigrants aren’t going to be covered under this bill – the people trying to make this an issue are simply wrong.

o   Undocumented immigrants would not be able to participate in the exchange, nor would they receive subsidies or tax credits. Those who are lawfully present in this country would be able to participate.

Attack: Health insurance reform will lead to rationing of care, with government bureaucrats getting between you and your doctor.

Ø Reality Check: Health insurance reform will stop rationing, not increase it.

o   The hard truth is that rationing is already happening every day – at the hands of insurance companies who decide whether or not you get coverage. Health insurance reform will do away with many of the rules that make it difficult for some Americans to get health care coverage today.

§ Reform will prevent insurance companies from denying coverage because you have a pre-existing condition; prevent them for cancelling coverage because you get sick; ban annual and lifetime limits on coverage; and prevent discrimination based on gender.

o   President Obama doesn’t want government bureaucrats getting between you and your doctor – and he doesn’t want insurance company bureaucrats getting between you and your doctor either.

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An Historic Commitment to Research

Posted by Jesse Lee on September 30, 2009 at 6:26 PM EDT

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download .mp4 (171 MB) | read the transcript

Amidst some of the brightest and most innovative minds in the medical field, the President spoke this morning about his commitment to making a "lasting difference" in the health of the American people—and how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will play a role in creating those differences:

Now, today I'm here to talk about our nation's commitment to research. I want to thank Dr. Collins and his team for showing me and Kathleen some of the extraordinary groundbreaking research being done at the National Institutes of Health.

The work you do is not easy. It takes a great deal of patience and persistence. But it holds incredible promise for the health of our people and the future of our nation and our world. That’s why I’m here today. For decades, the NIH has been at the forefront of medical invention and innovation, helping to save countless lives and relieve untold suffering. And yet, if we’re honest, in recent years we’ve seen our leadership slipping as scientific integrity was at times undermined and research funding failed to keep pace.

We know that the work you do would not get done if left solely to the private sector. Some research does not lend itself to quick profit. And that’s why places like the NIH were founded. And that’s why my administration is making a historic commitment to research and the pursuit of discovery. And that’s why today we’re announcing that we've awarded $5 billion -- that's with a "b" -- in grants through the Recovery Act to conduct cutting-edge research all across America, to unlock treatments to diseases that have long plagued humanity, to save and enrich the lives of people all over the world. This represents the single largest boost to biomedical research in history. (Applause.)

Now, one of the most exciting areas of research to move forward as a result of this investment will be in applying what scientists have learned through the Human Genome Project to help us understand, prevent, and treat various forms of cancer, heart disease, and autism. And having been a leader of the Human Genome Project, Dr. Collins knows this promise all too well. And it's a promise that we've only just begun to realize.

In cancer, we're beginning to see treatments based on our knowledge of genetic changes that cause the disease and the genetic predispositions that many of us carry that make us more susceptible to the disease. But we've only scratched the surface of these kinds of treatments, because we've only begun to understand the relationship between our environment and genetics in causing and promoting cancer.

So through the Recovery Act, the NIH is expanding the Cancer Genome Atlas, collecting more than 20,000 tissue samples to sequence the DNA of more than 20 types of cancer. And this has extraordinary potential to help us better understand and treat this disease. Cancer has touched the lives of all Americans, including my own family's; 1.5 million people will be diagnosed in the next year. Half a million people will lose their lives. We all know the terrible toll on families and the promise of treatments that will allow a mother to be there for her children as they grow up; that will make it possible for a child to reach adulthood; that will allow countless people to survive a disease that's claimed far too many lives.

(President Barack Obama talks with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, during a tour of the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Md., Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. Listening are Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, left, and Dr. Francis Collins, left, Director of NIH, third from left. Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

A critical part of the President's desire to make strides in medicine is the Recovery Act—under the President’s plan, tens of thousands of jobs will be created in the medical sector:

Now, we know that these investments in research will improve and save countless lives for generations to come. And as I was taking a tour with Dr. Collins and Dr. Fauci and others, just listening to the possibility of a HIV/AIDS vaccine, or hearing the latest treatments of cancer that allow people who previously only had resort to the most violent types of radiation or chemotherapy, now being able to take pills and seeing extraordinary progress, it is something that is entirely inspiring. But we also know that these investments will save jobs, they'll create new jobs -- tens of thousands of jobs -- conducting research, and manufacturing and supplying medical equipment, and building and modernizing laboratories and research facilities all across America.

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Creating Jobs and Finding Cures

Posted by Macon Phillips on September 30, 2009 at 10:03 AM EDT

Today, President Obama is announcing $5 billion in grant awards to fund cutting-edge medical research in all 50 states. To put this investment in context and better understand how it will create jobs and fuel advancements, check out this video of experts from NIH, including Director Francis Collins:

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download .mp4 (60 MB)

In addition to supporting the full spectrum of medical research, the 12,000+ grants will create tens of thousands of jobs over the next two years. In the President's words:

We know that this kind of investment will also lead to new jobs: tens of thousands of jobs conducting research, manufacturing and supplying medical equipment, and building and modernizing laboratories and research facilities. I’ve long said, the goal of the Recovery Act was not to create make-work jobs, but jobs making a difference for our future. There is no better example than the jobs we will produce or preserve through the grants we are announcing this morning.

The President will speak at the NIH shortly, which you can watch live from NIH's site.

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Word from the White House: Common Ground on Health Insurance Reform & The Real Health Care Tax

Posted by Jesse Lee on September 29, 2009 at 10:39 AM EDT
It's no secret that institutions of all stripes focus their communications on certain messages day to day. We thought it would all be a little more open and transparent if we went ahead and published what our focus will be for the day, along with any related articles, reports or documents.

Supporting article: "Study: Insured pay 'hidden tax' for uninsured health care," USA Today, 5/29/09

Supporting report: "Hidden Health Tax' for Family Health Coverage Climbed to $1,017 in 2008," Families USA, 5/28/09

Talking Points: Common Ground on Health Insurance Reform
- As we continue to move closer and closer to reform, one encouraging sign is the striking degree of consensus between the various bills making their way through Congress.
- The common features in these bills underscore the level of fundamental agreement about what health insurance reform should look like and offer a clear outline of what it will mean for Americans:
- Each bill would put an end to some of the insurance industry’s worst practices, like denying you coverage because of a pre-existing condition, or dropping or watering down your coverage when you get sick and need it most.
- Each bill would provide affordable options by creating an exchange where you can leverage the purchasing power of a large group to get reasonable prices and choose the option that’s best for you and your family.
- Each bill would increase choice and competition in the health care market.
- For seniors, each would protect and strengthen Medicare while making prescription drugs more affordable in the "donut hole."
- Each bill invests in both prevention and building the workforce of primary care providers.
- Insurance companies would be required to fully cover preventive care and checkups.
- Not surprisingly, as health insurance reform continues to gain momentum, its opponents continue to hurl baseless attacks in the hopes that something will stick.
- The latest en vogue assault in their last-ditch effort to preserve the status quo is an alleged tax that reform will impose on middle-class families.
- And that figure is growing by the day as more and more people lose their insurance.
- What President Obama is proposing is not a tax, but a requirement to comply with the law.
- People are required to obey the speed limit and have to pay a penalty if they get caught speeding? Does anyone consider that a tax?
- People are required to have car insurance and can be fined if they are caught without it. Is that a tax?
- What we’re talking about is a penalty for the few people who will refuse to buy health insurance – even though they can afford it – and who expect the rest of us to pick up the tab for their care.
Q: But what about the fees on insurance companies, drugmakers, devicemakers? Won’t that be passed on to consumers as a hidden tax?

A: No, for at least three reasons:
1. First, the fees are lump sum, not per unit, so you should not expect that manufacturers will pass them on.
  - Do critics really think the drug companies are holding back their prices today out of the goodness of their hearts and would decide to raise them to make up for this lump sum - but couldn't raise them today to get higher profits?
2. Second, these fees are intended to recapture part of the benefits these businesses will get from reform, as they acquire tens of millions of new customers.
  - If you believe the lump sum tax put pressure on them to raise prices, then the fact that they are getting lots of revenue from new customers will reduce that pressure.
3. Third, the fees are all going to ensure that we are increasing the numbers getting affordable coverage and thus reducing the $1,000 hidden tax that millions of Americans pay for the uncompensated care of the uninsured.
  - So even if you believed that somehow companies would find a way to pass them along, that would be more than outweighed by the benefits middle-class families would get from not only hundreds of billions of dollars in health care tax credits but from reducing the hidden tax they currently pay for the uninsured.
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Reality Check: Nancy-Ann DeParle's Stellar Record

Posted by Jesse Lee on September 28, 2009 at 1:34 PM EDT

One of the funny things about the debate over health insurance reform has been watching people who have for years clamored for cutting waste from Medicare contort themselves trying to find ways to oppose our efforts to do exactly that. As the President noted in his Address to a Joint Session of Congress:

Now, these steps will ensure that you – America's seniors – get the benefits you've been promised. They will ensure that Medicare is there for future generations. And we can use some of the savings to fill the gap in coverage that forces too many seniors to pay thousands of dollars a year out of their own pockets for prescription drugs. (Applause.) That's what this plan will do for you. So don't pay attention to those scary stories about how your benefits will be cut, especially since some of the same folks who are spreading these tall tales have fought against Medicare in the past and just this year supported a budget that would essentially have turned Medicare into a privatized voucher program. That will not happen on my watch. I will protect Medicare. (Applause.)

In case you don’t want to take the President’s word for it, here’s what the AP reported in an article headlined "SPIN METER: Once Medicare's foe, GOP now boosts it":

Last spring, most Republicans voted in favor of a budget proposal that would end Medicare in its current form for people under 55, offering vouchers instead to pay for private health care accounts.

You can read more about this switcheroo, as it were, from a Washington Post story out this morning, and from the New York Times editorial referenced here earlier.

A more recent attack has come from Stephen Moore of the Club for Growth, directed at the Director of our Health Reform Office Nancy-Ann DeParle. He leads off his attack citing various problems that various companies she’s been associated with have had, declaring that "We can thank Investigative Reporting Workshop of the American University School of Communication for this information." Well, Moore shouldn't be too thankful if his goal was smearing DeParle – here's what the report actually says about DeParle's direct involvement:

"There is no reason to think that DeParle was directly involved in any of the actions that led to the investigations and sanctions. DeParle was a member of the board of directors of these companies, not the chief executive officer managing day-to-day operations. It is rare for directors to be held legally accountable for illegal dealings by management."

Moore also claims that when DeParle ran Medicare during the 1990's, she did nothing to halt the waste and abuse that President Obama is fighting against now: "By the end of the Clinton administration, Medicare fraud was estimated by the U.S. General Accounting Office to costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars a year. This happened on Ms. DeParle's watch. It makes one wonder how this czarina is going to root out waste when so much of it piled up the last time she was in charge."

Unfortunately for Mr. Moore's argument, the reality is quite the contrary – DeParle helped cut errors and waste in half and saved taxpayers billions during her tenure. Again, the very report that Moore so graciously thanks includes this:

The investigations and lawsuits are at odds with DeParle's reputation in Washington as a progressive, highly respected health policy analyst. During the late 1990s, when she ran Medicare, she pushed hard to raise medical quality standards and to clamp down on fraud and waste in the massive federal health plan for the elderly.

"In my experience, she's the one administrator who really was tuned into the fraud issue," said William J. Mahon, a former director of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association. "She distinguished herself in putting fraud on the agenda."

A few more examples:

DeParle Headed Aggressive Campaign To Fight Medicare Fraud Cut Improper Payment Rate In Half In Just Two Years. "Medicare's aggressive campaign to fight fraud and overbilling has cut the improper payment rate in half in just two years, but the giant health program for the elderly still paid health care providers $ 12.6 billion last year for services that cost too much or were never provided, federal auditors said Tuesday. In 1996, when the government began systematically auditing a sample of claims by doctors, hospitals and other agencies, its erroneous payment rate was estimated at 14%...'We have turned the corner and we are heading in the right direction,' said Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, who heads the Health Care Financing Administration, which runs Medicare. She pledged to 'continue the aggressive effort to fight waste, fraud and abuse.'" [L.A. Times, 2/10/99]

Medicare’s Error Rate Had Fallen From 14% To 6.8% By Final Year Of Clinton Administration. "The US Department of Health and Human Services said on Friday that the rate of improper Medicare payments was stable over the past 2 years. HHS said the projected percentage rate for 2002 was about 6.3%, the same figure reported for 2001 and a significant decrease from the 13.8% rate estimated in 1996, when the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) began calculating the number. In 2000, the error rate was about 6.8%." [Reuters, 1/24/03]

Medicare Lost $23.2 Billion To Fraud, Abuse And Errors In 1996. "In all, government auditors told Congress that 14 cents of every dollar spent last year by Medicare, the nation's health care program for the elderly, was lost to such instances of fraud, abuse, or simple error. That amounted to $ 23.2 billion of the $ 168.6 billion Medicare paid last year to hospitals, doctors, laboratories and other health care providers." [AP, 7/18/97]

Medicare Lost $11.9 Billion To Fraud, Abuse And Errors In 2000. "Medicare lost an estimated $11.9 billion to waste, fraud and mistakes last year, half of what was lost five years ago from improper payments to doctors and hospitals, auditors said Tuesday. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson praised efforts to reduce the improper payments, which could range from innocent mistakes to outright fraud and abuse." [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3/7/01]

DeParle Convened HCFA’s First Conference on Combating Medicare Fraud and Abuse. "One of the first things Nancy-Ann Min DeParle did after taking over as head of the federal agency that administers Medicare was to visit South Florida with Sen. Bob Graham. Graham had promised DeParle, administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration, that shewould be able to witness Medicare fraud first-hand. He was right. During the trip in January, Graham and DeParle stopped in clinics where patients were being seen - and Medicare was being billed - but no licensed doctors were on site. They visited community mental health care programs where bingo games were being charged to Medicare as therapy. DeParle, 41, returned to Washington pledging to make the fight against Medicare fraud, estimated at $ 23-billion each year, her top priority. This month, DeParle sponsored a first for HCFA - a meeting of about 300 health care providers, private insurers, prosecutors and public officials on combating fraud and abuse." [St. Petersburg Times, 3/30/98]

One would expect somebody who claims to be a principled conservative, who has talked for years about eliminating waste and abuse in the system, to praise DeParle's record and to embrace President Obama's attempt to do what Moore and other conservatives have called for year after year. But perhaps principles are of less importance than partisan hit pieces to some.

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A White House First at 5:30: Live Chat with Secretary Sebelius and Senator Whitehouse

Word from the White House: Reality Check on Taxes, Illegal Immigrants, Rationing

An Historic Commitment to Research

Creating Jobs and Finding Cures

Word from the White House: Common Ground on Health Insurance Reform & The Real Health Care Tax

Reality Check: Nancy-Ann DeParle's Stellar Record

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