Election 2008 | HHS Secretary-Nominee Daschle Attends Community Meetings To Discuss Health Reform With U.S. Residents
[Jan 05, 2009]

President-elect Barack Obama's HHS secretary nominee, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), attended a community meeting in Dublin, Ind., on Dec. 29, 2008, where he spoke with residents about their health care concerns, the New York Times reports (Driehaus, New York Times, 12/30/08). The event, which was attended by 35 people, was one of an estimated 8,500 community meetings held nationwide to encourage grassroots participation in a health care system overhaul.

Daschle, who also will serve as director of the new White House Office of Health Reform, said the events are "designed really to engage the public, to get out of Washington and hear directly from you about your concerns, about your recommendations, about ways you think our system can be made to work better" (Connolly, Washington Post, 12/30/08). At the meeting, Daschle heard stories from people who had difficulty accessing care. He said, "These (stories) are really hard to listen to in many ways," adding, "We need to change the paradigm from illness to wellness" (Sheeley, Richmond Palladium-Item, 12/30/08). Daschle said, "When we combine all the stories we heard in this small town of Dublin and multiply that by 300 million people, we can begin to imagine the scope of the problem," but "I'm hopeful that the country has come together to say: 'Enough already. We have to fix this'" (New York Times, 12/30/08).

On Dec. 30, 2008, Daschle and his mother met with about 25 seniors at the Congress Heights Senior Wellness Center in southeastern Washington, D.C., to discuss health care. The seniors expressed interest in shorter wait times at physician offices and incentives to promote preventive care. Discussion participants also expressed concerns about the cost of prescription drugs and the lack of Medicare coverage for certain treatments and medical devices (Freking, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/31/08).

According to the Washington Post, "To Washington veterans, the approach may seem backward, or even naive, but Obama is betting that the energetic, technology-savvy supporters who fueled his candidacy will act as a potent counterbalance to the traditionally powerful special interests that have defeated similar reform efforts" (Washington Post, 12/30/08).

Stark's Role
Although House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) will be an "important player" in health care reform, "his blunt criticism of opponents" and "his positions to the left of many other Democrats promise to make the process bumpier," the Wall Street Journal reports.

Stark last month said that he would not negotiate with health insurance companies on health care reform. He said, "I think their intention is to see the Democrats fail, regardless of what it does for health care in this country," adding that the health insurance industry has "been trying to destroy Medicare for the last eight or 10 years."

Stark last year proposed allowing all uninsured U.S. residents to buy into a "Medicare-like" insurance plan. The Journal reports that insurance companies "loathe the idea" because they say it would compromise competition and lead to higher premiums for people with private insurance. Stark countered insurers' claims, saying that Medicare has lower overhead than private insurers. In addition, Stark supports giving the HHS secretary the authority to negotiate prescription drug prices covered by Medicare. According to the Journal, that "could be a show-stopper for the influential pharmaceutical lobby."

However, Stark "has shown a willingness to compromise," according to the Journal. Stark now supports a plan endorsed by Obama and others that would maintain the current employer-based insurance system and establish a national marketplace where individuals and small businesses could buy coverage based on income, the Journal reports. Stark has said that he expects health care reform legislation to be approved by Congress late this year or early 2010 (Zhang, Wall Street Journal, 12/24/08).

Overhaul Efforts
Several newspapers recently reported on efforts by the incoming Obama administration to overhaul the U.S. health care system. Summaries appear below.

• Boston Globe: The Globe examined the prospects for health care overhaul by the Obama administration, as well as possible strategies the Obama administration might use to pass health care overhaul. According to the Globe, Obama and his transition team "have signaled that they plan to work jointly with Congress to overhaul the health care system, rather than produce a separate White House bill that would be sent to Capitol Hill" (Wangsness, Boston Globe, 12/26/08).
  
  
• Chicago Tribune: The Tribune examined the Obama campaign and transition team's use of new media, such as the Web site change.gov, to promote its agenda and encourage participation by U.S. residents on a number of issues, including health care reform (Benderoff, Chicago Tribune, 12/25/08).
  
  
• Los Angeles Times: The Los Angeles Times examined how regardless of whether the Obama administration plans to push for food safety reform, it likely will take a back seat to other issues, although Obama has called for increased FDA funding (Levey, Los Angeles Times, 12/26/08).
  
  
• Philadelphia Inquirer: The Inquirer on Sunday examined Obama's possible choices for a new FDA commissioner. Current Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach plans to resign on Jan. 20. The Inquirer also examined how FDA "has lurched from crisis to crisis" in the last several years and "has appeared to be unprepared at best and compromised by industry at worst" (Hill, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/4).
  
  
• Philadelphia Inquirer: The Inquirer, as part of a continuing series called "Falling Through: Casualties of the Health Insurance Crisis," examined prospects for overhauling the U.S. health care system and some plans discussed by Obama and other lawmakers. The Inquirer highlighted the cases of a number of people previously profiled in the series (Vitez, Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/30/08).
  
  
• Washington Post: The Post examined how the demand for food assistance programs is increasing as the economic recession continues. According to the Post, Obama might decide to tie food assistance to improved nutrition in an effort to reduce obesity (Black, Washington Post, 12/24/08).
  
  
• Washington Post: The Post on Sunday examined how overhauling the U.S. health care system might be Obama's "biggest policy challenge," although "he may have advantages that Democratic presidents lacked in the past." According to the Post, "Obama allies are pushing the idea that a federal health care solution is not a threat to the nation's fiscal stability, but part of the solution because of its potential to unlock business growth, create jobs and ultimately provide cheaper care for more Americans" (Murray/Kane, Washington Post, 1/4).
  
  
• Washington Post: The Post examined how Obama plans to use the Internet to promote U.S. residents' involvement in the new administration. For example, Obama and Daschle are asking people to visit the transition team's Web site -- change.gov -- and share their ideas for overhauling the U.S. health care system and anecdotes about problems they have faced in accessing care (Vargas, Washington Post, 12/31/08).

Broadcast Coverage
NPR's "Weekend Edition Sunday" on Dec. 28, 2008, reported on the prospects of health care overhaul by the Obama administration. The segment includes comments from NPR Health Policy Correspondent Julie Rovner ("Weekend Edition Sunday," NPR, 12/28/08).