Unlikely Alliance Forming on Health Care

Unlikely Alliance Forming on Health Care
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
The Los Angeles Times

Thursday 01 November 2007

The top small business group, which helped doom a 1990s overhaul, is joining a diverse coalition in trying to forestall polarization.

Washington - The leading small-business organization, a lobbying juggernaut that helped kill President Clinton's health plan in the 1990s, plans to announce today that it is signing up with a diverse political coalition promoting access to affordable healthcare for all.

The National Federation of Independent Business will join AARP, the Service Employees International Union and the Business Roundtable - which represents chief executives of major companies - in an umbrella group called Divided We Fail. The effort is aimed at ensuring that healthcare and retirement security are at the top of the presidential candidates' domestic agendas next year.

The strange bedfellows are trying to forestall the kind of political polarization that doomed Clinton's healthcare plan, as well as President Bush's effort to overhaul Social Security.

"What is missing right now is not policy ideas," said Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP, the senior lobby. "There are lots of policy ideas. What is missing right now is political will."

The new alliance does not mean that its members are united behind one specific approach to healthcare reform; significant disagreements still divide them.

But they do appear to agree on the need for action and - with opinion polls showing widespread support for change - they see their alliance as a vehicle for assuring that its members will have a role in formulating new policies.

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http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110107H.shtml

They agree we need to feed the corporate beast. Fuck them

It means the plan is lousy. No thanks. With AARP as a guide, it means the savings to our cash strapped manufacturers will be minimal.

Using seniors to pressure and lobby is brilliant, but despicable.

of Apollo Alliance's approach to making environmentalism *work*. They are forging alliances between green advocates and businesses to help make environmentally sound practices also good business practices. Strange bedfellows. And another interesting approach.

Overall, I think everyone needs to be at the table.

I can't decide if this is good or bad. The Business Roundtable?? NFIB? :scared:

After AARP's mediare debacle, I don't think I trust them either.

I think we'll have to watch this group very carefully.

aren't insurance companies and pharma companies, this could be a good thing!

Last I knew. And yes, they sell senior's insurance packages. And they pushed for part d. Nice people, are they.