I get emails.
The Senate is cutting a deal to kill the public option by giving the President the “trigger” that his Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, has been fighting for since he took office.
Shoveling trillions of dollars into “too big to fail” insurance companies is not the change I voted for. The failure to establish a public option to control medical costs and increase competition is President Obama’s failure alone.
Sign our petition to President Obama: the triggered public option is your failure, and it’s up to you to fix it. Click here to sign:
http://action.firedoglake.com/obamafail
When Barack Obama announced his health care plan in 2007, he said insurance premiums for a family of 4 would be cut by $2500. This plan will see premiums increase $1000 each year.
Obama said “coverage without cost containment will only shift our burdens, not relieve them.” This plan does nothing to meaningfully contain spiraling health care costs.
Obama said “it’s time to let the drug and insurance industries know that while they’ll get a seat at the table, they don’t get to buy every chair.” This plan includes a deal between the White House and PhRMA that guarantees there will be no negotiation for Medicare prescription drug prices.
Obama said he’d go after the drug companies who “sell the same exact drugs here in America for double the price of what they charge in Europe and Canada.” But the White House deal not only doesn’t do that, it bans the reimportation of cheaper drugs from Canada.
What does this deal do? It forces Americans to buy the products of large corporations, then the IRS penalizes them if they refuse.
The Senate’s triggered public option is a failure of Barack Obama. Let him know. Click here to sign our petition:
http://action.firedoglake.com/obamafail
President Obama is the only one who can save the public option and make these statements more than mere campaign promises. The fight isn’t over, and we need to let him know that a failed public option will be his fault.
Thanks for all you do.
Best,
Jane Hamsher
Firedoglake
Right there at the top of this FDL Action email we see Jane Hamsher’s favorite bogeyman, Rahm Emanuel. I don’t understand why Hamsher blames Rahm Emanuel for every single decision that this administration makes that she doesn’t agree with. But, in any case, Rahm Emanuel floated the trigger in the Wall Street Journal on July 7th, which is hardly “since he took office.” Also, Rahm Emanuel didn’t actually take office; Barack Obama did. Emanuel is the chief of staff to the president, not the president. He’s not the decider, and he doesn’t go give quotes to the Wall Street Journal that are at cross-purposes with his boss’s wishes. His July 7 quote should be taken in the context in which it was given. The White House was trying to break through an impasse on the Senate Finance Committee and get them to report out a bill before the August recess. That effort failed, and we were rewarded with the Tea Party spectacle that crippled momentum for reform, including a triggerless public option.
Despite first introducing Rahm Emanuel as the culprit, Hamsher moves on to say that the failure to enact a triggerless public option is President Obama’s fault alone. Let me provide some context. Here is Joe Lieberman today:
“My opposition to a government-run insurance option, including any option with a trigger, has been clear for months and remains my position today,” says Joe Lieberman. “Regarding the ‘Medicare buy-in’ proposal that is being discussed, we must remain vigilant about protecting and extending the solvency of the program, which is now in a perilous financial condition.”
Here is Ben Nelson a few weeks ago:
Nelson, who also opposes the creation of a government-run public option insurance plan, pointedly remarked that program is a significant reason for his rejection of Reid’s abortion provisions. “If there’s no public option, perhaps some of the [abortion] problem goes away,” Nelson said.
Here’s Blanche Lincoln talking from the Senate floor as she explained her vote for cloture (paraphrased at FDL):
”I’ve avoided the extremist claims from the left and the right” and sought common-sense policy solutions. Issue is very complex and there’s no easy fix. Should build on what’s already working. All Americans should have access to quality and affordable health care. Do not support robust and government-administered public plan. Shouldn’t put federal budget at risk to public plan bailouts.”
Here’s Mary Landrieu talking from the Senate floor as she explained her vote for cloture:
“Finally, I remain concerned that the current version of the public option included in this bill could shift significant risks to taxpayers over time unnecessarily, and I will continue to work with my colleagues to find a better and bipartisan solution for this issue. I have suggested that a freestanding, premium-supported, competitive community option that would trigger on a date certain, if our private market reforms fail to work, might be a possible compromise. That would include language that Senator Snowe and other of my colleagues have been working on for several months.
For Hamsher, these senators have no agency. Well, I guess Lieberman does, because he refuses to go along with Rahm Emanuel’s President Obama’s super-secret plan to introduce a trigger to the public option. Lincoln, Nelson, and Landrieu, not to mention Conrad and Carper, are just automatons that are stealthily implementing a plan hatched at the White House to reward insurance corporations. Needless to say, the Republicans have no responsibility for their united opposition to a triggerless public option. Nope. This is all on Obama.
Next, Hamsher begins comparing the CBO estimate for Reid’s original bill to the promises Obama made on the campaign trail. But Reid’s original bill will be replaced by a manager’s amendment. The bill Hamsher is lambasting is the one that includes a triggerless public option. For example, Hamsher complains that the original Reid bill contains a prohibition on the reimportation of drugs. But Justin Kitsch, from Sen. Byron Dorgan’s office, just sent out a press release that says the following:
The legislation, called the Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act, would allow American consumers to safely import lower-priced, Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs from other approved countries.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, this legislation is estimated to save the federal government $19.4 billion over the next ten years. Dorgan estimates the lower drug prices would also save American consumers about $100 billion over the next decade. Drug prices in the U.S. have been going up dramatically in recent years – a 9 percent jump in 2009 alone – and this amendment could provide some relief for the relentless increases.
The legislation contains strong safeguards to prohibit counterfeit drugs from entering the system or other practices that would put the consumer at risk, and applies only to FDA-approved prescription drugs produced in FDA-approved plants from countries with comparable safety standards.
Dorgan said the legislation will bring consumers immediate relief from the world’s highest prescription medication costs, and will ultimately force the pharmaceutical industry to lower drug prices in the United States.
“U.S. consumers are charged the highest prices in the world for FDA-approved prescription drugs, and that’s just not fair,” Dorgan said. “This legislation has bipartisan support and will put downward pressure on prescription drug prices. It will save the federal budget nearly $20 billion over the next decade and will put downward pressure on prescription drug prices. It will save consumer up to $80 billion more over the 10 years.”
“As we confront the ever-increasing cost of health care – which is projected to exceed $33 trillion in the coming decade – the imperative is clear that we must address rising costs, or affordable access to coverage simply cannot be achieved and sustained,” said U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe. “By implementing a safe prescription drug importation program, this amendment will increase competition within the domestic prescription drug market which, in turn, will ensure more Americans have access to affordable medications. This is a common sense approach that will guarantee Americans can safely secure the medications they rely on to improve their overall health and well-being.”
“The ability for Americans to buy cheaper, safe, imported prescription drugs is needed more than ever before with 16 million Americans out of work and millions more struggling financially,” said Senator John McCain. “But while Americans all over the country are being forced to choose between their next meal and their necessary medications, pharmaceutical companies continue to lobby Congress to keep rules in place to prohibit the importation of the exact same prescription drugs sold here in the United States in order to maintain their profit margins.”
“I’ve always considered this a free-trade issue. Imports create competition and keep domestic industry more responsive to consumers. And, if Americans could legally access prescription drugs outside the United States, then drug companies would be forced to re-evaluate their pricing strategy. The pharmaceutical industry would no longer have free rein to force American consumers to pay more than their fair share of the high cost of research and development,” said Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
“Americans have the right to safe and affordable medicines,” Brown said. “Multinational drug companies already import medicines into this country, but they still charge Americans monopoly prices. This amendment would lower prices for consumers, businesses, and the government.”
“America’s seniors have long demanded legislative action to lower their drug costs,” said Vitter. “It’s high time we addressed all the legitimate concerns of importation without adding significant cost and bureaucracy to the process, which would wipe out consumer savings.”
Senator Patrick Leahy said, “Americans pay some of the highest prices for prescriptions drugs in the world, even though many are made right here, and often with the benefit of taxpayer supported research. Making medicine affordable is part of what health reform should be. Prescription drugs are a lifeline, not a luxury.”
“The unfortunate reality is that the American people continue to pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs,” said Sanders. “The product is made in the same factory by the same company yet in American we pay two to three times more for that product than people in Canada and people in Europe. Prescription drug prices are soaring. It contributes to the high cost of health care in America. The time is long overdue for Congress to stand up to the pharmaceutical industry, the most powerful lobby in Washington, and say enough is enough.”
“We’ve seen prescription drug prices increase year after year as Americans struggle to deal with the sky-rocketing costs of health care,” said Klobuchar. “Giving people access to safely imported FDA-approved medication increases competition and gives families and seniors access to safe and effective prescription drugs.”
“When I was elected to Congress, I organized buses of senior citizens to Canada to point out the abuses of insurance companies charging American consumers much higher prices for prescriptions than someone would pay across the border for the same FDA-approved medication,” said Stabenow. “With the passage of this amendment, Michigan families will see significant savings in drug costs because for the first time, pharmacists and wholesalers will be able to import safe, affordable prescription drugs from Canada and other industrialized nations.”
“This is an important effort to lower the cost of prescription drugs for consumers, and help save taxpayer dollars at the same time,” said Feingold. “This is a critical moment to show Congress’s commitment to fiscal responsibility as we reform our health care system, and that’s why I’m so pleased to support this amendment.”
“For folks in Montana on a fixed income, paying for critical life-saving prescriptions is tough,” said Senator Jon Tester. “This bipartisan, common sense measure will reduce costs for patients and save the taxpayer money. Saving lives and saving money is what health reform is all about.”
“I’ve met so many Rhode Islanders who struggle to pay for the prescription drugs they need,” said Whitehouse. “This health care reform effort provides an opportunity once and for all to rein in budget-busting prescription costs, and this amendment is an important part of that effort.”
“Access to and affordability of quality health care services and prescription drugs are of paramount importance as we reform our health care system,” said Sen. Webb. “Americans are continually charged the world’s highest prices for prescription drugs, with 47 million Americans unable to afford the drugs that they need. I strongly support this amendment and others that encourage competition and help ensure that consumers have greater access to safe, affordable prescription drugs and services.”
The bill has substantial bipartisan support, with Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME), John McCain (R-AZ), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), David Vitter (R-LA), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Al Franken (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jim Webb (D-VA), Jon Tester (D-MT) and Tim Johnson (D-SD) cosponsoring the amendment. Dorgan points out that President Obama also co-sponsored the bill when he was in the Senate.
With four Republican co-sponsors, I think the chances are that this amendment will pass. So much for that aspect of the PhRMA deal. I guess we will have to be vigilant to make sure the administration doesn’t take this change out of the Conference Report, but still…
Finally, Hamsher complains that the bill will force Americans to purchase the products of large corporations and then punishes them if they don’t. But the reported deal allows people 55 and older to buy-in to Medicare. For the rest, the rumor is that a non-profit alternative must be made available to avoid triggering the public option.
Here’s Howard Dean:
Just a week ago, Howard Dean said that Congress “isn’t going to pass a bill that reforms health care,” and that “If we don’t have a choice, this bill is worthless and should be defeated.”
However, Dean hit the airwaves this morning telling CBS News that last night’s deal represents “real reform” adding, “This is what should have been done in the first place.”
Here’s Bernie Sanders:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who had previously indicated he would oppose a weak health care bill, told Rachel Maddow last night that the new components of the emerging deal “may be stronger than the weak public option.”
Here’s Anthony Weiner:
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), one of Congress’ fiercest supporters of the public option, has come out to support the Medicare buy-in proposal in the Senate Democrats’ deal.
“This is one idea I like a lot,” Weiner said in an email to the Daily News, calling the idea “remarkable.”
Throughout this year I have watched Hamsher’s efforts on health care with a mixture of admiration and alarm. Her indefatigable efforts for a progressive bill have been amazing to watch, but her rhetoric and strategy have been questionable at best. I am not surprised that, as this effort approaches the end, she’s left out there alone still railing against strawmen. In the end, her greatest accomplishment may have been to convince Harry Reid to include a triggerless public option in the base Senate bill. Ironically, for supporters of the public option, that was the worst possible procedural move. It allowed the moderates to pick it to pieces at the point of their maximum leverage. And, yet, smart progressives seem to be happy with this deal.
It’s early yet, but it’s looking like major progressive figures are feeling cautiously optimistic about the compromise Reid has crafted. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has been a major public option advocate all along. Of the new proposal, he says, “I’ve got a smile on my face. I don’t smile naturally.”
Me? I’m not smiling, yet. But I ain’t blaming Emanuel Obama either.
