Reply #6: Obama To GOP: I’m Thinkin’ Of Ya...But we're moving forward... SUCKERS! [View All]

Obama To GOP: I’m Thinkin’ Of Ya

Laying the groundwork for tomorrow’s announcement of the way forward on health care, President Obama just fired off a letter to Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress, informing them that he likes some Republican ideas for reform.

But make no mistake: The letter’s real message is that on the big stuff, Obama and Dems are moving forward alone.

“The Republican and Democratic approaches to health care have more in common than most people think,” Obama wrote, sounding a conciliatory tone. “No matter how we move forward, there are at least four policy priorities identified by Republican Members at the meeting that I am exploring.”

Among those ideas: Getting medical pros to do random undercover investigations of health care providers, and creating alternate ways of resolving medical malpractice disputes. Obama also said he’d junk the backroom deals in the Senate bill, as expected.

But Obama left little doubt that he’s moving forward with his expansive vision of reform that cracks down on the insurance industry and deals with the problem of 30 million uninsured — with our without Repubicans:

I believe that we must hold the insurance industry to clear rules, so they can’t arbitrarily raise rates or reduce or eliminate coverage. That must be a part of any serious reform to make it work for the many Americans who have insurance coverage today, as well as those who don’t. I also believe that piecemeal reform is not the best way to effectively reduce premiums, end the exclusion of people with pre-existing conditions or offer Americans the security of knowing that they will never lose coverage, even if they lose or change jobs.

The nice talk is all about laying the groundwork for Dems to go forward alone starting tomorrow. Full letter here.

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/senate-republicans/obama-to-gop-im-thinkin-of-ya/