Tuesday, June 02, 2009

The Need For Healthcare Reform
President Barack Obama announced to his supporters on a conference call a few days ago, "If we don't get it done this year, we're never going to get it done." It refers to the President's proposed overhaul of the outdated and overburdened American healthcare system. As the Beltway gears up for what David Plouffe calls a "Herculean" fight, industry players are lining up to have their interests fully heard. According to CQ, Karen Ignagni, the president and chief executive of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the industry's trade association, and George C. Halvorson, CEO of the insurance giant Kaiser Permanente, are holding meetings in order to come up with a proposal for reform for fear that they might otherwise have to conform with policies emerging from Congress. The insurance companies' strong interaction with the administration has led many to believe that industry may change its business practices over the course of the summer. On June 6th, President Obama is expected to kick-off his healthcare campaign and communicate again with supporters.

Key leaders in Congress wait: House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark have advocated for some time about their interest in cutting payment rates for health plans that participate in Medicare and in pushing Congress to create a government-run plan. The endgame for many, however, is to wager the threat of a public run system of healthcare to extract benefits and concessions from industry. As the players assemble, the summer games begin.

Educational PowerPoint

Mona Sheth
Governmental Affairs Division
M+R Strategic Services

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