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EXCLUSIVE: MAX BAUCUS'S HEALTH CARE TEAM.
I mentioned yesterday that Chuck Schumer's public plan compromise wasn't a freelance effort: Max Baucus had deputized him to work through the options on the public plan. But he's not the only Finance Committee member that received some homework from Baucus. In fact, Baucus has given every Democrat on the committee a different piece of health reform to focus in on. Sources say that some are taking them more seriously than others, and obviously no single senators gets the last word. But the assignments have been a way for Baucus to delegate some of the work and involve all the Democrats on the Finance Committee. This is the list:
Jay Rockefeller: Medicaid Expansion, Premium Subsidies, Quality ImprovementsKent Conrad: Comparative Effectiveness, Chronic Care Management
Jeff Bingaman: Pay-for-Performance, Bundled Payments, IHS
John Kerry: Heath Information Technology, Exchange, Small Business Tax Credit
Blanche Lincoln: Small-Group Rating Reforms, Small Business Tax Credit
Ron Wyden: Tax Exclusion, Non-Group Rating Reform
Chuck Schumer: Public Plan
Debbie Stabenow: Employer Pay-or-Play, Medicare Buy-in, HIT
Maria Cantwell: Long-Term Care Reform, Workforce Issues
Bill Nelson: Graduate Medical Education, Medicare Part D
Bob Menendez: Disparities, Individual Requirement
Tom Carper: Fraud and Abuse, Prevention and Wellness, Transparency
There's clearly considerable room for personal initiative on this. Chuck Schumer, for instance, has pushed very hard on his issue and moved very quickly. He may well define the policy around the public plan. On the other hand, if John Kerry were to hypothetically forget to examine health information technology -- and this is a hypothetical, I have no evidence that the guy hasn't personally mastered every aspect of HIT down to and including installation -- it's obviously not the case that health information technology would be left out of the final bill. So at the risk of stepping on my scoop, I wouldn't overstate the importance of these players. But some of them -- in particular Schumer on the public plan, Wyden on the tax exclusion, Conrad on comparative effectiveness, and Rockefeller on Medicaid -- will be very important.
COMMENTS (9)
Interesting approach.
Its a little bizarre to see certain issues pulled apart-- i.e. you'd think the degree of need for Medicaid expansion/public plan/tax exclusion/small or non-group group rating reform are all heavily interrelated issues. So its not clear what we get from this fragmented approach.
As an aside, I'm pretty impressed to see certain issues on this list: GME and disparities, in particular. I love the new name for "mandate"-- individual requirement. LOL.
PS Kudos on the exclusive.
Posted by: wisewon | May 6, 2009 2:32 PM
Ezra,
Double kudos to Baucus's approach in assigning Kent Conrad to decide on cost-saving measures related to comparative effectivenss and Nelson to Part D, which would let them earn "budget hawk" cred while adding to the overall strength of the bill.
Posted by: Anonymous At Work | May 6, 2009 2:56 PM
This is nifty stuff, Ezra!
Do you have anything to say about the particular people chosen for particular jobs, and how that bodes for the future?
Posted by: Neil the Ethical Werewolf | May 6, 2009 4:06 PM
I agree with wisewon, some of the issues that were pulled apart are odd:
prevention and wellness vs comparative effectiveness and chronic care management.
Medicare Part D vs Medicare buy-in.
Posted by: flory | May 6, 2009 5:54 PM
Interesting observation. Next to Schumer, Rockefellaris going to have the heaviest lift as many of the Republicans seem to be in denial that 2/3rds of the unemployed earn less than 200% of the federal poverty level and will likely need Medicaid.
Posted by: Cathy | May 6, 2009 7:27 PM
Debbie Stabenow needs to be in charge of STDs, stress related weight gain, and healthcare rationing or at least financial penalties for people who are overweight. Those would be my committee assignments for her.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 7, 2009 9:16 AM
Which one is in charge of forcing the CBO to provide phony numbers showing their plan will control costs?
Oh, right, that would still be Baucus.
Until CBO does honest and comlete side-by-side comparison of plans, we are left with this report as the best available:
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=777197
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