KeithHennessey.com

This is part two of a crash course on the reconciliation process and how it might be used this fall for health care reform.

Senator Conrad’s theme is to facilitate the creation of “non-profit, non-government” health plans, but in which the government sets certain standards. Whatever your view of today’s private health insurance market and private for-profit plans, more government involvement as proposed by Senators Conrad or Schumer will make things worse.

CBO says a part of the Kennedy-Dodd bill would cost more than $1.3 trillion over 10 years and insure 16 million more people. When the policy is in full effect in 2015, half the people who would receive subsidies already have private health insurance, and taxpayers would pay more than $9,000 per newly insured person.

The White House has released a letter from the President to the two Senate Chairmen who are working on (different) versions of health care reform:  Senator Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.  The letter is dated yesterday and [...]

Imagine that Sony plans to bring to market a new TV that is twice as good as the old $500 TV but costs $200 more to produce.  If instead it is twice as good but costs $2,000 more, they will probably hold off and look for a less expensive way to improve [...]

The Senate Finance Committee hosted a huge panel of experts yesterday to discuss health insurance.  The best testimony was given by Dr. Kate Baicker of Harvard, a former White House colleague of mine.  I highly recommend you read anything Kate writes.  I will crib from her testimony to link three concepts that I think mutually [...]

The House passed the bipartisan growth bill (aka the “stimulus bill”) yesterday on an overwhelming 385-35 vote.  93% of Democrats and 85% of Republicans voted aye.  That vote is a direct result of the cooperation among Speaker Pelosi, Republican Leader Boehner, and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson on behalf of the President.
The bill now heads to [...]