The White House Blog: Health Care

Reaching Across the Aisle on Jobs and Health Reform

Following up on the unique conversation the President held with House Republicans at their retreat, the President invited bipartisan leadership from Congress to the White House to discuss job creation and the economy.  Making a surprise appearance at the daily press briefing afterwards, the President relayed some thoughts on the meeting:

THE PRESIDENT:  ...And at this critical time in our country, the people sent us here expect a seriousness of purpose that transcends petty politics.  That's why I'm going to continue to seek the best ideas from either party as we work to tackle the pressing challenges ahead.  I am confident, for example, that when one in 10 of our fellow citizens can't work, we should be able to come together and help business create more jobs.  We ought to be able to agree on providing small businesses with additional tax credits and much needed lines of credit.  We ought to agree on investments in crumbling roads and bridges, and we should agree on tax breaks for making homes more energy-efficient -- all of which will put more Americans to work.  Many of the job proposals that I've laid out have passed the House and are soon going to be debated in the Senate.  We spent a lot of time in this meeting discussing a jobs package and how we could move forward on that.  And if there are additional ideas, I will consider them as well.  What I won't consider is doing nothing in the face of a lot of hardship across the country.

This meeting was also in advance of a bipartisan summit on health reform that the President convened for February 25th.  This meeting has already garnered significant attention, with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs making clear that while the meeting is very much about inviting valuable ideas from Republicans, it is by no means about backing away from the challenges facing the American people.  The President laid out his expectations for a constructive conversation:

Q    After meeting with you, John Boehner came out and told us, "The House can't pass the health care bill it once passed; the Senate can't pass the health care bill it once passed.  Why would we have a conversation about legislation that can't pass?"  As a part of that, he said you and your White House and congressional Democrats should start over entirely from scratch on health care reform.  How do you respond?  Are you willing to do that?

 

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, here's how I responded to John in the meeting, and I've said this publicly before.  There are some core goals that have to be met.  We've got to control costs, both for families and businesses, but also for our government.  Everybody out there who talks about deficits has to acknowledge that the single biggest driver of our deficits is health care spending.  We cannot deal with our deficits and debt long term unless we get a handle on that.  So that has to be part of a package.

Number two, we've got to deal with insurance abuses that affect millions of Americans who've got health insurance.  And number three, we've got to make health insurance more available to folks in the individual market, as I just mentioned, in California, who are suddenly seeing their premiums go up 39 percent.  That applies to the majority of small businesses, as well as sole proprietors.  They are struggling.

So I've got these goals.  Now, we have a package, as we work through the differences between the House and the Senate, and we'll put it up on a Web site for all to see over a long period of time, that meets those criteria, meets those goals.  But when I was in Baltimore talking to the House Republicans, they indicated, we can accomplish some of these goals at no cost.  And I said, great, let me see it.  And I have no interest in doing something that's more expensive and harder to accomplish if somebody else has an easier way to do it.

So I'm going to be starting from scratch in the sense that I will be open to any ideas that help promote these goals.  What I will not do, what I don't think makes sense and I don't think the American people want to see, would be another year of partisan wrangling around these issues; another six months or eight months or nine months worth of hearings in every single committee in the House and the Senate in which there's a lot of posturing.  Let's get the relevant parties together; let's put the best ideas on the table.  My hope is that we can find enough overlap that we can say this is the right way to move forward, even if I don't get every single thing that I want.

But here's the point that I made to John Boehner and Mitch McConnell:  Bipartisanship can't be that I agree to all the things that they believe in or want, and they agree to none of the things I believe in and want, and that's the price of bipartisanship, right?  But that's sometimes the way it gets presented.  Mitch McConnell said something very nice in the meeting about how he supports our goals on nuclear energy and clean coal technology and more drilling to increase oil production.  Well, of course he likes that; that's part of the Republican agenda for energy, which I accept.  And I'm willing to move off some of the preferences of my party in order to meet them halfway.  But there's got to be some give from their side as well.  That's true on health care; that's true on energy; that's true on financial reform.  That's what I'm hoping gets accomplished at the summit.

Forty Million Kids and Counting

One year ago today, within weeks of taking office, President Obama signed into law a reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This legislation, along with provisions in the Recovery Act strengthening Medicaid, brought much-needed health coverage to millions of families.

The expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program and the strengthening of Medicaid helped ensure 40 million kids from all across America could see a doctor if they got sick. It meant that, in the face of a recession, their parents did not have to choose between the health of their kids and paying rent or the heating bill. These programs have been critically important for families.

Taking a closer look at the last year, we found that millions of children's lives were changed as a result of these federal programs. An additional 2.6 million children gained coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program during the 2009 fiscal year.

While we are proud of how far we've come, we think we can do better. There are millions of children who are eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, but don't have coverage.

That’s why we're challenging states, local governments, community-based organizations, health centers, faith-based organizations, as well as other federal departments to help enroll the 5 million children who are eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program but do not currently have coverage. To do our part, we've already issued outreach grants, launched a new website, and brought together 500 people at a National Child Health Summit, and we will be doing much more to reach out to federal agencies and states on ways to cut out the red tape in enrollment and renewals. We will also be closely monitoring progress on all fronts.  

We've compiled resources and information, both in English and in Spanish, in one website called www.InsureKidsNow.gov. This website offers state-specific information about the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid for families and professionals.

Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our children. We are determined to build on our existing efforts to cover kids and to make sure that no child goes without health care in America.

Kathleen Sebelius is Secretary of Health and Human Services

Still Not a "Government Takeover"

In an appearance on a morning news show today, House Minority Leader John Boehner repeatedly charged that the health insurance reform bills being considered in Congress represent a “big government takeover” of health care.

It’s important to know that’s just not true. The claim of a “government takeover” is a time-worn attack raised by opponents of reform whenever real change is in sight. But the bills passed by the House and Senate would enact nothing of the sort.

The legislation would create a marketplace where private insurance companies would compete for business, and it would expand coverage by providing subsidies for Americans to purchase affordable coverage from private insurers. At the same time, the legislation would put the brakes on rising health care costs and put an end to insurance company abuses.

That's not a "government takeover": it's the solution to problems that have plagued our health care system for decades and slowed American competitiveness. And if the specifics sound familiar, it's because this legislation is very much like the bipartisan approach proposed by former Senate leaders Bob Dole, Howard Baker, and Tom Daschle, and the health care system supported by Senator-elect Scott Brown in Massachusetts.

Unfortunately, the knowing repetition of false claims has become a defining characteristic of this debate – and as the President said on Friday to House Republicans, that’s a loss for everyone:

“So I am absolutely committed to working with you on these issues, but it can’t just be political assertions that aren’t substantiated when it comes to the actual details of policy.  Because otherwise, we’re going to be selling the American people a bill of goods.” 

The President also stressed the broader point that in these trying times, the American people expect more from their elected officials than the same old political tactics:

“But we’ve gotten caught up in the political game in a way that’s just not healthy.  It’s dividing our country in ways that are preventing us from meeting the challenges of the 21st century.  I’m hopeful that the conversation we have today can help reverse that.”

If you haven’t seen the video of President Obama’s remarkable question-and-answer with House Republicans yet, you can check it out here.

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director

Caring for Caregivers

This week the Middle Class Task Force unveiled a series of initiatives in the President's FY 11 budget that are aimed at helping families with soaring child care costs, balancing work with caring for elderly relatives or people with disabilities, paying for college, and saving for retirement.  These are costs that – along with health care – have risen dramatically for families at a time when their incomes haven't.   Some people call this "squeeze" because of the pressure these costs put on family budgets.  But for many families it just seems like it is impossible to get ahead.

This is particularly true for the so-called "sandwich generation" – people who are caring for children (or grandchildren or adult children who are struggling financially) and their parents.   The Vice President often speaks very personally about his experience caring for his parents and in-laws.  And almost all of us know someone who has juggled caring for a parent or relative who can’t get along completely on their own.  Millions of Americans provide unpaid care to aging relatives – including approximately 23 million caregivers with jobs and 12 million who are also caring for their own children.   That's why the Middle Class Task Force’s "squeeze" initiative includes help for family caregivers. 

These caregivers play a vital role in helping seniors stay in their communities or at home.  But too often they don’t have the support they need to balance caregiving with work and family responsibilities.  As Elinor Ginzler of AARP put it:

"AARP is grateful that the Middle Class Task Force has drawn attention  to an issue that is deeply important to our members—the critical role of family caregivers and what we should be doing to help them.  Approximately 65 million Americans provide care to a loved one, giving more than $375 billion worth of unpaid care each year—often at their own financial and emotional expense.  Increasing support to these invaluable individuals would be an important step to help those who do so much to help others."

The nearly $103 million investment proposed by the Middle Class Task Force will support more respite care, counseling, training, referrals, and adult day care.  As Sandy Markwood, CEO of National Association for Area Agencies on Aging explained:

"Vice President Biden’s Middle Class Task Force’s recommendation to increase funding for the National Family Caregiver Support Program and Lifespan Respite, along with strengthening supportive services through Title III-B of the Older Americans Act, represents a huge investment in community-based programs that support the independence of older Americans and their caregivers. These funds will enable them to access and get the critical services that they need while avoiding unnecessary and more expensive institutional care or spending down to Medicaid.  We applaud the work that has been done by the Administration that serves to strengthen long term living options through home and community-based services."

The extra funding proposed by the Task Force will allow nearly 200,000 additional caregivers to be served and 3 million more hours of respite care to be provided.  It adds funding to programs that provide transportation help, adult day care, and in-home services including aides to help bathe and cook.  Some have said these things are modest.  And, to some extent, they are. But sometimes it is these small things that add up to make all the difference.

Eric Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Alzheimers Foundation of America is well aware of the vital help these services give families:

"Family caregivers who struggle each day with practical and financial challenges have been anxiously waiting for this issue to be brought to the national stage and for relief in their own homes and communities. For these families, assistance at any level can help delay nursing home placement and enhance caregiver well being. The proposed initiatives represent a welcome change in direction, from minimal or flatlined funding to amounts that will make a difference for hundreds of thousands of American families."

And here’s what Gail Hunt, CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving who represents family caregivers said:

"The National Alliance for Caregiving is proud to support the Middle Class Task Force and their efforts to support family caregivers. This is a wonderful addition to the National Family Caregiver Support Program and it is a perfect way to recognize these caregivers who on average spend 18 hours a week providing care.  The funding for transportation, adult day care and other services under Title III b will also help family caregivers by assisting the older adult they are caring for. We are grateful to the Middle Class Task Force for bringing much needed public awareness to the family caregiver."

The caregiver initiative won’t magically alleviate all the strain on caregivers and their families – but it is an important first step toward providing more support for families and caregivers and the vital services they are performing.

Terrell McSweeny is Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President