Next Week: The Bipartisan Health Reform Summit
During his State of the Union Address, President Obama reiterated his commitment to passing comprehensive health reform, and he invited members of both parties to bring their best ideas to the table. Next Thursday, the President is set to follow through on that invitation with a bipartisan health reform summit that will be televised live in its entirety.
Last Friday, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent official invitations to Congressional leaders of both parties, asking them to attend:
We are writing to ask that you join President Obama for a bipartisan meeting at the Blair House on February 25 to discuss health reform legislation.
We have seen again in recent days that when it comes to health care, the status quo is unsustainable and unacceptable. The proof is right in front of us: just last week, a major insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, announced plans to increase premiums for many of its policyholders in California by as much as 39 percent on March 1.
They then laid out the plan for the half-day long meeting:
The President will offer opening remarks at the beginning of the meeting, followed by remarks from a Republican leader chosen by the Republican leadership and a Democratic leader chosen by Order Generic Cialis Online without Prescription the Democratic leadership. The President will then open and moderate discussion on four critical topics: insurance reforms, cost containment, expanding coverage, and the impact health reform legislation will have on deficit reduction.
President Obama asked Republican congressional leadership to put forward their own plans to achieve these goals, and he encouraged them to make their plans available online for the public to review. As the President said earlier this week:
"I’m looking forward to a constructive debate with plans that need to be measured against this test: Does it bring down costs for all Americans as well as for the Federal Government, which spends a huge amount on health care? Does it provide adequate protection against abuses by the insurance industry? Does it make coverage affordable and available to the tens of millions of working Americans who don't have it right now? And does it help us get on a path of fiscal sustainability?"
We’ll have more information on next week’s summit soon.