Streaming ARCHIVED live video-feed [see below, or if you cannot see it, simply click this link], beginning at 10:00 am EST, tomorrow, Thursday, February 25, 2010 -- from the www.whitehouse.gov website:
We're underway -- with some selected live-blogging:
▲ Rep. John Dingell (D, MI), sums it up -- his father first started a bid for health care for all, almost 60 years ago, now. He is suggesting that a simple majority is enough -- it was enough for the "Contract with America" nearly twenty-two years ago, now. And, that was at least as fundamental a change in our ways of governing, at the federal level. [I was off the grid with other duties.]
▲ Lunch recess now; US House members need to reach the floor, for a vote -- buses waiting. Back in an hour.
▲ President Obama is forcefully making the point that Rep. Eric Cantor's (R., VA) goofy talking points (2,700 pages is too much complication, out of Washington, DC!) are not advancing the agenda. Obama: "We could eliminate the FDA, and drug prices would come down -- but a lot more people will die. Guaranteed." Let's move beyond the posturing Eric.
▲ Now Kathy Sebelius (D., HHS Sec'y, former Gov., KS) is deriding the monopoly powers of insurers. Problems with high-risk pools -- must reform the entire system, using exchanges, not the bandaids of transitions. [Missed an hour of the intervening cross-talk.]
▲ Sen. John McCain (R., AZ) is still lost in his talking points -- from the last campaign. The President reminds him that the "election is over, John" -- and this is not a "Fox-News split screen moment". Let's move forward, and talk about common ground, not keep harping about perceived slights in the process.
▲ Sen. Max Baucus (D., MT) says "we are -- Republicans and Democrats -- pretty close to bridging all important disagreements" -- including buying insurance, across state lines. [I missed some of the dialogue, earlier.]
▲ Rep. Steny Hoyer (D., MD) on the right for every American to have health coverage.
▲ Sen. Tom Coburn (R., OK) up next. . . . talking about "bad medicine" -- and how we ought to treat the disease, not the symptoms. Agreed. One in three dollars spent on health care does not involve care for patients. Again, let's get at that. He is appropriately focusing on prevention -- I agree.
▲ Alexander is wrong about the cost of premiums increasing. Obama explains that Republicans are using "apples to oranges" comparisions -- and the CBO has said that "apples to apples" insurance premiums will drop by 12 to 14 percent, over ten years.
▲ President Obama is trying to find areas where both parties agree -- and build from those points. Back to health care insurance exchanges -- similar to Republicans' idea of letting insurance companies offer coverage across states, and purchasers to buy outside their state.
▲ 750,000 personal bankruptcies, in 2008, due to out of control health care bills -- that is unacceptable.
▲ Sen. Reid explaining the facts of the donut hole -- and the long term devastation of stopping meds mid-year. He tells Lamar Alexander that Alexander is not entitled to his own facts. Reconciliation was used 21 times in the past two decades -- most notably, on Newt Gingrich's Contract with America -- a vast sea-change in our governing approaches.
▲ Sen. Harry Reid (D., NV) explaining the devastation of post-hoc denial of coverage for a cleft palate surgery, for his infant -- the infant was claimed to have a pre-existing condition (called a birth defect), so the insurer retoractively denied coverage -- the family now owes $90,000 -- that the insurer originally had agreed to pay. Shameful.
▲ Chair Nancy Pelosi (D., CA) lauds the BI-PARTISAN vote yesterday in the House, to REPEAL health insurers' antitrust exemption. The Senate has passed such a bill, as well -- and the President has said he will sign it. So, buckle-up! -- the Sherman and Clayton Acts apply, once again, to insurers.
▲ Now Alexander is expressing fear of reconciliation process. He quotes all the opponents of Bush-Cheney's (prior) jamming efforts of the past eight years. What he ignores is that, in the end, Republicans did just that -- over the last eight years. Now is a time to act, not "start over".
▲ Alexander offers cannard of health care insurance profit limits. What he ignores is that insurance should be a public good, and thus profits should not even be relevant -- so, the comparison is senseless.
▲ Alexander suggests the problem is just too big to be addressed in one comprehensive stroke -- he'd like bit by bit approaches (to allow all the vested interests in get their pet projects in) -- now onto complaining about the lack of tort reform. Plllleeiiieizzz.
▲ Lamar Alexander (R., TN) would like to "start over". He says we should focus on "costs" -- not necessarily reform of the system.
▲ Mr. Obama hopes this is not simply political theatre. "Let us have a real dialogue -- not an exchange of talking points." Indeed.
▲ Describes health care insurance exchange -- and a proposal to end pre-existing conditions exclusions, primarily. Now wrapping up his introductory remarks.
▲ Nods to McCain, Grassley, McConnell and Enzi -- nice touch. . . .
▲ The President offers personal health care insurance horror stories -- from the end of Mr. Obama's mom's battle with ovarian cancer, most pointedly.
▲ Goodness, Mr. Obama is much taller than Henry Waxman -- he shakes hands with all attendees -- now into Mr. Obama's opening remarks.
▲ Just waiting for the video feed, but all looks good [moderately -- and pleasantly -- shocked that all my code packets appear to be running smoothly in Blogger!]. . . .
Earlier, from the Summit site:
. . . .The President's proposal will make health care more affordable, make health insurers more accountable, expand health coverage to all Americans, and make the health system sustainable, stabilizing family budgets, the Federal budget, and the economy:▲ It makes insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history, reducing premium costs for tens of millions of families and small business owners who are priced out of coverage today. This helps over 31 million Americans afford health care who do not get it today – and makes coverage more affordable for many more.
▲ It brings greater accountability to health care by laying out commonsense rules of the road to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care.
▲ It will end discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions.
▲ It will end "pay to delay" deals that cost consumers billions in higher drug prices.
▲ It puts our budget and economy on a more stable path by reducing the deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years – and about $1 trillion over the second decade – by cutting government overspending and reining in waste, fraud and abuse. . . .
Depending on my schedule tomorrow, I may offer some live-blogged commentary. Feel free to offer your observations, in the comments.
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