House Will Take 'Major Step' Toward Comprehensive Health Care Reform In 2009, Speaker Pelosi Spokesperson Says

House Democrats will "take a major step" toward comprehensive health care reform in 2009, and lawmakers already have taken "incremental steps" to expand coverage, a spokesperson for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wrote in an e-mail on Monday, The Hill reports. According to The Hill, Pelosi spokesperson Brendan Daly issued the statement to clarify recent comments by House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) that appeared to lower expectations for health care reform this year.

In an interview on Sunday with C-SPAN, Clyburn said that while he does not expect health care reform legislation to pass Congress this year, he would like to see lawmakers take on the task in an incremental manner, The Hill reports. Clyburn said, "I would much rather see it done that way, incrementally, than to go out and just bite something you can't chew," adding, "We've been down that road. I still remember 1994," when the Clinton administration attempted to overhaul the health care system.

In the e-mail, Daly wrote, "There are some incremental steps that we are taking -- first we did SCHIP, then in our economic recovery package, we have money to help stem the tide of people losing health insurance -- coverage for Medicaid and COBRA. There is also money for quality, health IT, comparative effectiveness and wellness, and money for prevention," adding, "And we will take a major step forward this year to increase the number of people who have health care coverage."

Kristie Greco, a spokesperson for Clyburn, said, "What [Clyburn's] saying is that these steps ... shouldn't be overlooked as important strides" toward health care reform. Clyburn's comments also do not represent the strategy that the House Democratic leadership plans to take to address the issue of health care reform, she noted, adding, "There hasn't been a determination of when that bill will come to the floor in the House or the Senate" (Young, The Hill, 1/26).

Clinton
Former President Bill Clinton on Monday said that the current economic recession positions President Obama to draw support for the development of a universal health care system, the AP/Raleigh News & Observer reports. In a speech at North Carolina State University, Clinton said that his administration encountered several roadblocks when it tried to overhaul the health care system, including a lack of cooperation from Congress. He said that because of the recession, Obama is free to spend money and political capital, the AP/News & Observer reports. "Frankly, we're spending like crazy so there's no concern about the deficit for the next two or three years," adding, "That's one of the good news is that we can do health care now because we have to grow the economy. We must do it. That's a good thing" (Baker, AP/Raleigh News & Observer, 1/26).

Broadcast Coverage

American Public Media's "Marketplace" on Monday interviewed Health Net CEO Jay Gellert about the health care industry and its support of overhauling the U.S. health care system (Ryssdal, "Marketplace," American Public Media, 1/26).


Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.



Buy Azathioprine Without Prescription