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Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
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Peter Orszag's role in the healthcare debate and the formulation of health care policy proposals. One proposal of Orszag, who heads the Congressional Budget Office, is to set up a new agency with powers to cut spending and implement changes in Medicare. Says Orszag, "one of the reasons we have such disjointed and skewed incentives is that we have an excessively political process." At a recent meeting with House Democrats, one Congresswoman said her top priority is winning higher payments for oxygen suppliers, and Orszag was taken aback. For years officials have been trying to cut payments to oxygen and medical equipment suppliers, which are said to be inflated. When a new competitive bidding process was set to take effect last year, industry supporters in Congress were able to delay the plan, and these supporters are still fighting to block changes says the WSJ. Here is a 40 year old Orszag, with degrees from Princeton and London School of Economics, who got his early experience in the Clinton adminstration at age 24. He then followed this with a number of policy oriented jobs, ending with appointment to head CBO in 2007. And he faces the whole system of Congressmen from both parties beholden to interests in the healthcare industry, who provide the donations for them to finance their election campaigns. Dan Eggen describes this in the Washington Post, 7/21/2009. Max Baucus of Montana, and to some extent Grassley of Iowa, are senators from both parties who Eggen points out are beholden to the healthcare industry because of large donations they receive from the interests in the healthcare industry. These interests want to see their payments system protected. The further escalation in health care costs, which would make the whole healthcare system unaffordable even as it delivers poor results, can only be prevented by making cost control an exercize that is not influenced by healthcare industry donations. Jackie Calmes describes the huge hurdles in achieving a deficit neutral move to universal health care in the U.S. in the NYT 6/26/2009. See the link. The exchange between Grassley and Orszag on the issue of the $177 billion in savings needed from the payments to health insurers under the Medicare managed care plans- which allow seniors to obtain Medicare coverage outside the government run program -went as follows. These are dubbed overpayments by outside experts and efforts have been made to cut them in Congress. When Mr Grassley raised concerns about the impact of such cuts in a hearing, -and Grassley has opposed the cut for this overpayment to insurers- Orszag responded saying: "I very firmly believe that capitalism is not founded on excessively high subsidies to private firms. This is what this system delivers right now."
Efforts to scuttle aspects of the Obama health reform plan that hurts industry profits.
07/24/2009
Industry lobbying efforts in this direction.
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Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
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Health Reform’s Missing Ingredient
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Insurers Tally Up Baucus Bill Provisions
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Health Co-Ops Aren't the Answer
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Lobbyists Fight Last Big Plans to Cut Health Care Costs
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Lobbying by the U.S. pharmaceutical and healthcare industry.
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Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
Wall Street Journal 06/25/2008
Drug Industry Adapts to Democrats' Mounting Clout
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White House visitor logs show lobbying going strong - The Washington Post
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The sweeping restructuring of U.S. health care that is needed and the way patients, doctors, and hospitals would rather live with the status quo.
01/31/2008
The risks of "cosmetic" reform in the Obama administration's efforts, and the unsustainability of the current system in the costs and results it provides.
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Bayonne Medical Center Has Highest U.S. Billing Rates
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Patients’ Costs Skyrocket; Specialists’ Incomes Soar
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Obama's Health Plan Needs Spending Controls, CBO Says
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The health care models of countries in Europe.
05/02/2005
The German, French, Dutch and other models of health care. The health care system of France covers 99% of 64 million people at acost of 11% of GNP compared to 16% of GNP for the US and 50 million uninsures.
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German Curbs On Drug Costs Rile Big Brands
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The French Lesson in Health Care
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In Holland, Some See Model For U.S. Health-Care System
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Maker of Lipitor Digs In to Fight Generic Rival
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Pricey Drugs Put Squeeze on Doctors
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The French health care system and its costs, comparison with the American system of health care.
06/28/2007
The rising costs of the French system and its concept and performance. Efforts to meet rising costs and rise of the "mutuals." Healthcare in France is at about 11% of GNP compared to 16% in the USA, with 50 million uninsured in the US and 99% of 64 million people of France covered. Pricing of pharmaceutical products and healthcare services remains a major unsolved problem in the U.S.
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The Soaring Cost of a Simple Breath
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New York Times 12/21/2013
The French Lesson in Health Care
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New York Times 07/14/2007
In Holland, Some See Model For U.S. Health-Care System
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Maker of Lipitor Digs In to Fight Generic Rival
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Frank Rich on the lobbying industy and its activities which aim at gutting most of the U.S. President's reform proposals.
07/24/2009
Is this a bad omen for the lobbyists or the Obama administration, or both, asks Rich in this NYT piece. Rich comments on a series of Washigton post articles showing the cooperation of lobbyists and senior members of Congress and the Obama administration. The Republicans too have the same pattern. In this context see Brooks article about the coming culture wars that cut across party lines and are based on values.
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Banks' Lobbyists Help in Drafting Financial Bills
New York Times 05/23/2013
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
New York Times 10/04/2009
New York Times 10/19/2009
No Walk in the Park: For Obama One Year Later, It’s the Slog of Governance
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In House, Many Spoke With One Voice: Lobbyists’
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Developing new solutions to the problem of escalating health care costs in the U.S.
01/31/2008
New solutions are being developed and new ideas being tried to bring down health care costs. In many case quality can improve at lower cost or the similiar results delivered for lower cost with some other advantages inpatient focussed healthcare that improve outcomes. Pricing of pharmaceutical products and healthcare services as the major unsolved problem in the U.S.
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The Soaring Cost of a Simple Breath
New York Times 10/12/2013
New York Times 12/21/2013
Economy Led to Cuts in Use of Health Care, Study Says
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Digital Records May Not Cut Health Costs, Study Cautions
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Health Care: Obama's Budget Skimps on Cost-Cutting
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Hospitals Merge Design and Building to Cut Costs
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The perverse effects of lobbying in damaging the public interest.
04/10/2009
Finance industry lobbying, with $300 million alone spent to repeal the Glass Steagall Act which kept banks from getting involved in the securties business, is having the effect of making changes without the due diligence and care necessary for changing legislation that had deep reason embedded in experience during the Great Depression. Citigroup's failure is a result of its involvement in the securities business, and it was a principal backer for the repeal. Similar situation is playing out in the U.S. health-care area which has overtaken the finance industry in money spent for lobbying. Lobbying of this magnitude is having distortional effects on national priorities on necessary regulation, and on creating sustainable economical systems for health care in health care laws.
Grouped Articles
Banks' Lobbyists Help in Drafting Financial Bills
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New York Times 04/10/2009
Finance Lobby Cut Spending as Feds Targeted Wall Street
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New York Times 07/20/2009
New York Times 07/20/2009
Doctors' Payments Snag Health Bill
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Pharmaceutical company and industry lobbying in the U.S. Congress
06/25/2008
The influence on legislation and federal regulation that the pharmaceutical companies and industry associations are seeking, with $168 million spent on lobbying in 2006. As a result pricing of pharmaceutical products and healthcare services is the major unsolved problem in the U.S.
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 06/25/2008
Health-Care Firms Have Supported Lawmakers Debating Reform
Washington Post 07/21/2009
Dana Milbank - Washington Sketch: GOP's Steele Couldn't Have Said It Better Himself
Washington Post 07/21/2009
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
New York Times 08/02/2009
As Congress Goes on Break, Health Lobbying Heats Up
Wall Street Journal 08/05/2009
Expert opinion on Medicare reform.
06/14/2009
Grouped Articles
Small Group of Doctors Are Biggest Medicare Billers
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Martin Feldstein - Obama's Health-Care Reform Plan Is Not the Answer
Washington Post 07/28/2009
New York Times 07/31/2009
Obama’s Pledge to Tax Only the Rich Can’t Pay for Everything, Analysts Say
New York Times 08/01/2009
Economist 08/27/2009
Economist 10/15/2009
U.S. president Obama, lobbyists and the 2010 Obama health care law
07/24/2009
The political process and the influence of lobbyists on Congress and the White House constrains the development of laws that control healthcare costs. Higher health care costs means less money for infrastructure development, education, research and development funding, and other priorities which build a future for Americans.
Linked Articles
E-Mails Highlight Extent of Obama's Deal With Industry on Health Care
New York Times 06/08/2012
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
Health care cost increases as a critical part of the U.S. deficit problem and why it defies solution (1)
07/24/2009
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Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
Four Deficit Myths and a Frightening Fact
Wall Street Journal 01/19/2012
Health care spending as a critical part of the U.S. deficit problem and why it defies solution (3)
07/24/2009
Linked Articles
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
A grim diagnosis for our ailing U.S. health care system - The Washington Post
Washington Post 11/28/2011
Peter Orszag and the struggle for a deficit neutral health care plan (1)
06/26/2009
Linked Articles
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
Obama and Congress Clash on How to Pay for Health Care
New York Times 06/26/2009
The Congressional Budget Office's Elmendorf and Orszag on how the escalation in healthcare costs works havoc on the U.S. deficit (1)
06/17/2009
Linked Articles
Obama's Health Plan Needs Spending Controls, CBO Says
Washington Post 06/17/2009
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
Health care spending as a critical part of the U.S. deficit problem and why it defies solution (2)
06/17/2009
Linked Articles
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
Obama's Health Plan Needs Spending Controls, CBO Says
Washington Post 06/17/2009
Health care spending as a critical part of the U.S. deficit problem and why it defies solution (4)
07/24/2009
Linked Articles
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
Wall Street Journal 01/08/2011
Peter Orszag and the struggle for a deficit-neutral health care plan (2)
07/24/2009
Linked Articles
Obama's Health Expert Gets Political
Wall Street Journal 07/24/2009
Beneath Budget Battle, a Health-Spending Juggernaut
Wall Street Journal 12/17/2012
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