[NYAPRS Enews] Obama, Lawmakers Expanding Health Measures in Stimulus Plan

[Matt Canuteson]

Obama, Lawmakers Expanding Health Measures in Stimulus Plan

By Ceci Connolly Washington Post  December 12, 2008

 

President-elect Barack Obama
<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/o000167/>  and
Democratic leaders in Congress are devising plans to significantly
expand the health provisions in next month's economic recovery
legislation, arguing that pouring billions of dollars into an array of
health programs will not only boost the economy but also make a down
payment on promises of broader health-care reform.

In a stimulus bill that could exceed $500 billion, Obama has already
pledged to increase federal Medicaid spending -- perhaps by more than
$40 billion over two years -- and to make a large investment in health
information technology. Talks are underway about also adding money to
retrain medical workers, extending the State Children's Health Insurance
Program, and expanding the law that allows unemployed people to purchase
health insurance through a previous employer's plan, known as COBRA.

At a Chicago news conference yesterday to introduce Thomas A. Daschle as
his choice for health and human services secretary, Obama said major
reform of the health-care system "has to be intimately woven into our
overall economic recovery plan."

"It's not something that we can sort of put off because we're in an
emergency," he said. "This is part of the emergency."

Daschle, a former Senate majority leader, said that "addressing our
health-care challenges" offers the best hope for reducing personal
bankruptcies, improving American competitiveness and helping "pull our
economy out of its current tailspin."

Their comments came just hours after the government announced that the
number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending
Dec. 6 was 570,000, the highest in 26 years.

"It's hard to overstate the urgency of this work," Obama said.

Part of the political rationale for adding more health-care projects to
the recovery package is to "get a running start" on the larger goal of
broad health reform, said Nancy LeaMond, an executive vice president at
the seniors' lobby AARP. "This builds momentum."

Additionally, including health-care reform measures in the context of
the economic recovery bill would keep Congress from having to deal with
those debates and expenditures in the later, larger discussion, said
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus
<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/b000243/>
(D-Mont.).

"We're going to be very busy here in Congress," he said in an interview.
Baucus aims to begin marking up a stimulus bill the first week of
January in hopes that it can be ready by Inauguration Day. He is
pressing to include provisions that would steer money into health
technology, such as adoption of electronic medical records, and
reauthorization of the SCHIP program for two to three years.

"It's very important that health IT be part of the economic recovery,"
he said. "It represents the beginning of health-care reform."

During the campaign, Obama spoke of spending $50 billion on modernizing
the health-care system by helping doctors and hospitals install and use
computers. Sources involved in preparing the stimulus package said it
might include $10 billion of that as a down payment.

"Investing in the health of the American people is a crucial part of the
nation's economic recovery," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/k000105/>
(D-Mass.), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee. "Modernizing our health-care system through better use of
information technology is the key to easing the heavy burden of
health-care costs."

Physicians have consistently complained that moving to electronic
medical records or electronic prescribing involves spending money to
purchase equipment and train workers. Several Democrats yesterday said
the money could help defray the cost of those capital expenditures, pay
for training programs or fund ongoing research on developing standards.

Rep. Pete Stark
<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/s000810/>
(D-Calif.), chairman of the House Ways and Means health subcommittee, is
lobbying to expand COBRA insurance and provide subsidies to people who
cannot afford the premiums. Currently, unemployed people can purchase
health coverage through their previous employer, but it expires after 18
months and the individual must pay the full price plus an administrative
fee.

"When people lose their jobs, they lose their health insurance," he
said. "Not having health care is right up there with food and shelter."

In addition to his Cabinet post, Daschle will be head of the new White
House Office of Health Reform. His deputy will be Jeanne Lambrew, a
veteran of the Clinton administration who co-wrote a book with Daschle
on health-care reform.

In making the announcement, Obama described his friend Daschle as "the
original no-drama guy."

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/12/AR200812
1200003_pf.html

 

 

 

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