LA Philanthropy Watch

In advance of Thursday’s heralded bipartisan summit on health care, the White House has released the President’s plan to merge the House and Senate health care reform bills – making a renewed push to transform the country’s health care / health insurance system.

A new White House website, ‘Putting Americans in Control of Their Health Care,’ has links to a summary of the plan, Republican ideas in the plan, a page where Americans can ask their own questions about health care reform, and (for hard-core wonks) a link to the actual 11-page proposal [pdf] released this morning.

If the summit fails to convince Republicans to help Mr. Obama and the Democrats pass health care legislation, then it will be up to the majority party in the House and the Senate to act like a majority and pass the bill.

The New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn frames the challenge in these words: “Will Democrats, particularly in the House, get past their fear and vote for the bill? Really that’s what the summit is all about–convincing nervous Democrats that the Republicans really aren’t interested in compromise and that health care reform, despite the poll numbers, is still a good idea.”

Ezra Klein’s take at his Washington Post blog is: “The election of Scott Brown threw the politics of the issue back into chaos, and unlike in past instances, left the process uncertain as well. But Democrats have spent the past few weeks rebuilding the process, and today was the first step: The press will now spend a few days covering the plan itself, rather than just the politics of the issue. Then comes Thursday’s summit, and if all goes well there, Harry Reid says that the Senate will use the reconciliation process to make a few tweaks and changes and, alongside the House, finish this bill.

That, of course, is the real plan: finish the bill.”

Igor Volsky at the Wonk Room has a rundown – including a chart – on how the President’s plan bridges the differences between the House and Senate bills.

Finally, Health Care for America Now, which has led the effort to rally Americans in support of health care reform, features Jason Rosenbaum’s observations at the NOW! Blog:

“Perhaps more significant than the proposal this morning was Pfeiffer’s comments on the strategy for passing the President’s plan:

• The President expects and believes the American people deserve an up or down vote on health reform. The proposal was designed to ensure we can get that if the opposition decides they will filibuster health reform.”

(Image is a screen grab from a video of Obama’s Weekly Address.)

Last night, in the State of the Union address, the President said this about health care reform:

Now, let’s clear a few things up.  (Laughter.)  I didn’t choose to tackle this issue to get some legislative victory under my belt.  And by now it should be fairly obvious that I didn’t take on health care because it was good politics.  (Laughter.)  I took on health care because of the stories I’ve heard from Americans with preexisting conditions whose lives depend on getting coverage; patients who’ve been denied coverage; families –- even those with insurance -– who are just one illness away from financial ruin.

After nearly a century of trying — Democratic administrations, Republican administrations — we are closer than ever to bringing more security to the lives of so many Americans.  The approach we’ve taken would protect every American from the worst practices of the insurance industry.  It would give small businesses and uninsured Americans a chance to choose an affordable health care plan in a competitive market.  It would require every insurance plan to cover preventive care.

And by the way, I want to acknowledge our First Lady, Michelle Obama, who this year is creating a national movement to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity and make kids healthier. (Applause.)  Thank you.  She gets embarrassed.  (Laughter.)

Our approach would preserve the right of Americans who have insurance to keep their doctor and their plan.  It would reduce costs and premiums for millions of families and businesses.  And according to the Congressional Budget Office -– the independent organization that both parties have cited as the official scorekeeper for Congress –- our approach would bring down the deficit by as much as $1 trillion over the next two decades.  (Applause.)

Still, this is a complex issue, and the longer it was debated, the more skeptical people became.  I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people.  And I know that with all the lobbying and horse-trading, the process left most Americans wondering, “What’s in it for me?”

But I also know this problem is not going away.  By the time I’m finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance.  Millions will lose it this year.  Our deficit will grow.  Premiums will go up.  Patients will be denied the care they need.  Small business owners will continue to drop coverage altogether.  I will not walk away from these Americans, and neither should the people in this chamber.  (Applause.)

So, as temperatures cool, I want everyone to take another look at the plan we’ve proposed.  There’s a reason why many doctors, nurses, and health care experts who know our system best consider this approach a vast improvement over the status quo.  But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know.  (Applause.)  Let me know.  Let me know.  (Applause.)  I’m eager to see it.

Here’s what I ask Congress, though:  Don’t walk away from reform.  Not now.  Not when we are so close.  Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people.  (Applause.)  Let’s get it done.  Let’s get it done.  (Applause.)