Donald Berwick's Recess Appointment Draws Ire from Republicans, Support from Democrats

AP

Liberals and conservatives are butting heads over President Obama's recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to oversee Medicare and Medicaid, taking very different positions on whether Berwick qualifies as a "radical" and whether Mr. Obama is justified in bypassing Senate confirmation of the appointment.

As head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Berwick will be responsible for the large entitlement programs and will also play a critical role in steering the enactment of Mr. Obama's new health care reforms. The debate over Berwick's recess appointment makes clear what the White House knew all too well -- Berwick may not have survived the Senate confirmation process, which would have turned into a proxy debate over health care reform.

"There's no time to waste with Washington game-playing," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer wrote on the White House blog.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Republicans contend the White House wants to muzzle any debate over Berwick's views.

"As if shoving a trillion dollar government takeover of health care down the throat of a disapproving American public wasn't enough, apparently the Obama Administration intends to arrogantly circumvent the American people yet again by recess appointing one of the most prominent advocates of rationed health care to implement their national plan," McConnell said in a statement. "Democrats haven't scheduled so much as a committee hearing for Donald Berwick but the mere possibility of allowing the American people the opportunity to hear what he intends to do with their health care is evidently reason enough for this Administration to sneak him through without public scrutiny."

Republicans are largely concerned with comments Berwick has made with respect to health care "rationing" -- a contentious issue during last year health care reform debate.

Berwick -- a pediatrician, Harvard University professor and leader of a health care nonprofit organization -- told an interviewer last year, "The decision is not whether or not we will ration care - the decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open. And right now, we are doing it blindly."

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming in a statement blasted Berwick as "a self-professed supporter of rationing health care" and complained, "He won't even have to explain his views to the American people in a Congressional hearing. Once again, President Obama has made a mockery of his pledge to be accountable and transparent."

Added Sarah Palin on Twitter, "Press Corps-pls do your job as Obama sneaks in Berwick appt;pls cover his mission:socialized healthcare&rationing based on'quality of life.'"

Supporters of the appointment say Berwick simply wants to add more transparency to the health care system.

Ezra Klein, a liberal blogger for the Washington Post, notes that Berwick's statement is no different than a statement from Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin (seen as an up-and-coming leader within the GOP), who said with respect to health care, "Rationing happens today! The question is who will do it?"

Klein points out that Berwick has won praise from people who served for Republican administrations, such as Tom Scully, who served as CMS Director under President George W. Bush.

"He's universally regarded and a thoughtful guy who is not partisan. I think it's more about ... the health care bill," Scully said of Berwick. "You could nominate Gandhi to be head of CMS and that would be controversial right now."

The White House also points to praise for Berwick from Mark McClellan, who also served as CMS Director during the Bush administration: "What happens at CMS in the next few years will determine whether the new legislation actually improves quality and lowers costs. Don [Berwick] has a unique background in both improving care on the ground and thinking about how our nation's health care policies need to be reformed to help make that happen."

Berwick has also drawn support from the American Medical Association, AARP, and the labor union the AFL-CIO.

"There is no better individual than Dr. Berwick to lead the effort to transform our health care system into one that provides every patient with the best possible care at every interaction," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement.

Conservative commentators support the Republican position that a debate over Berwick's positions is imperative.

"Donald Berwick openly wants to destroy the American medical system," writes conservative blogger Erick Erickson. "Berwick has condemned the free market's involvement in medical practice and declared the United States should be more like Britain, where some people die waiting in line for medical treatment. Barack Obama has foisted on the American public radical after radical. Donald Berwick might just be the most dangerous of them all."

Democrats, meanwhile, are complaining that the GOP opposition to presidential nominees like Berwick has gotten out of hand.

"Republican lockstep stalling of Don's nomination was a case study in cynicism and one awful example of how not to govern," Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said in a statement. "Republicans screamed that these federal programs were in trouble, then tried to deny the Administration the capable guy the president had chosen to oversee them. The president did the right thing making this a recess appointment. He wasn't going to let the Republicans thrive in a chaos of their own making."

Democratic Sen. Max Baucus on Montana said in a statement he was "troubled" that Berwick's appointment bypassed the Senate confirmation process, which he called "an essential process."

He added, "Despite the recess appointment, I look forward to working with CMS as they implement health reform to deliver the better health care outcomes and lower costs for patients we fought to pass in the landmark health reform law."

[rmonroe401]

Bush made how many recess appointments? Hmmm. Let me see... 171. A record number. But nobody complained then. HYPOCRITES

[blackaiko]

I think OBAMA said that he was going to run Washington differently.
HMMM, so him doing just like Bush is OK with you left wing Dip$hits?
HOPEY CHANGEY-YOU WILL SEE HE IS JUST THE SAME

[6591Hou]

"The decision is not whether or not we will ration care - the decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open. And right now, we are doing it blindly."

[shirini1]

What a comedy some of the comments here to justify obama's perfidy. The charlatan wanted to be a TRANSFORMATIVE president, to bring America together -- "No Red State or Blue State, ONLY the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," REMEMBER??? -- to be the POST-RACIAL president, to be the most ETHICAL, the most TRANSPARENT ADMINISTRATION, and you "broad-minded" Progressive have been reduced to justifying him by comparing his record to your number one nemesis, the big bad Bush!!!

Your plaster saint has been exposed as a sham bigger than the STYROFOAM Greek columns of his nomination acceptance speech! And you all go eat crow, you "broad-minded" "enlightened" hypocrites.

[shirini1]

Damn... we are in trouble not just because there is a charlatan sitting in the WH hell bent on doing as much damage as he can to the very essence and meaning of this country but some of the comments here makes clear just how far off the proverbial cliff we have fallen as citizens!

The same people who screamed and hollered if and when President Bush made recess appointments because of the filibustering of his choices by the DEMOCRATIC CONTROLLED congress, are now giddy silly that this styrofoam in chief with MAJORITIES IN BOTH Houses of congress has bypassed congressional oversight by THEIR representatives and has installed a wealth-distributig fellow through recess appointment, chipping away evermore at the checks and balances engrained by our forefathers on the government. They don't care or want to know WHY, for what reason, the Marxist-in-chief would do recess appointment when his party controls BOTH houses of congress!!! Their brains have been so thoroughly laundromatted that they are incapable of seeing the hypocrisy of their behavior. Truly stunning!

[medwriter56]

You are missing an important point. Berwick is aligned with the insurance (banking) industry. He is their poster boy. His Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a nonprofit arm of managed care. Just look at the grant-support roster. It is funded almost entirely by the insurance companies, banks and the Macy Foundation (yet another non-profit arm of the insurance industry).
Berwick's son worked closely with Dodd on health care issues. Father and son Berwick seem to be extensions of Grassley/Frist/Dodd/HCA philosophy. What is the philosophy? Profiteering and control of all things healthcare by the insurance (banking) industry. This choreography has been going on since the inception of Kaiser Permamente, followed up by Regan's 1980 deregulation of the insurance and medical institutions, made even stronger by the introduction of managed care, and now the Obama health plan. Who is profiting from these changes? The insurance/banking industry. Both are raking in the largest profits in their histories, at the expense of US citizens and the collapse of multiple viable businesses and one of the world's best health care nations. Berwick appears to support patient-centered care, socialized medicine...but all these 'innocent' sounding concepts simply pad the pockets of managed care. As long as healthcare costs are contained, the insurance companies continue to realize even greater profit percentages.
The communications company that supports IHI happens to support communications for several of the largest banks in the world. Coincidence? I think not.
Obama prefers not to adhere to the democratic process. Unfortunately, he is a puppet for an organization that is the true leadership of our bankrupt (we don't even have a GNP and owe trillions to China) and corrupt country. It is all quite tragic. We've stood by and watched as we've lost our country to foreign interests and greed. :(
Buckle your seat belts, it is going to be a bumpy ride.

[abbe91]

"The party of "No" is trying to curtail spending,..."

Thanks ... you made my day. What a good laugh ...
And the next thing you will say is that Obama inherited a budget surplus from GW ...
LOL

[user000049586849302948602]

...though Paul Reubens as Pee-Wee Herman is also being considered.

[user000049586849302948602]

Oh, it drew their "ire." Well EXCUSE MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

[JJ_in_tulsa]

Most of the people who believe in these policies won't wake up before noon, if they do at all. this is the party that supports all of our people who are drugged out and probably won't wake up to vote, no idea if they can vote,, we are talking about the rights of the drug induced, most of which are dems, they get total dhs benefits,, they get a house, electric, they get it all, all they have to do is stay stoned,, this is your dollars at work,,,,


Me, I have grandchildren, like many other are raising grandchildren because our kids are meth addicts, most of them graduates of the Mexican border, but regardless, we are trying to give these kids lives, and you dems just try to make it "our" problem,, well it isn't our problem but there are thousands, and millions of grandparents trying to raise these kids,,, and you do, NOTHING to help us,, nothing to help to help the kids......

You just don't get that vast amount of human waste that is here because of that mexican border.... Do you have any idea about people who are forced to raise their grandkids? NONE? And then this idiot president will put someone in charge. I can tell you what it was like,, we raised our grandchild and payed everytime and then he needed surgery and we couldn't.

[cassandrayp]

i disagree with your comments. You arfe not the only grand parent trying to raise your grandchildrens in tough times. I support the President trying to help. It's not the dems that is the problem, it's the republicans and their effort to play politics with everyone else's life. I am well educated and am proud of my vote for President Obama. There are many good people who have worked hard and are now trying to make it and needs some assistance. Was this a problem under Bush or did this problem just happen under President Obama? Why is this man having to solve problems that did not get solved before now? Where has your senator and governor been in the last 5 years. I doubt that this problem just started. There is violence in every major city and small town. More city police officers are needed everywhere. All people are not bad just because they happen to be dems or republicfans. We need to stop the name calling and ask them , our government both dems and repub. to solve problems. To President Obama, keep trying to solve these major issues that confront our country despite people who stand on the sideline and complain and have zero answers.

[democracy5]

Let me get this straight: you're complaining that you think Democrats are drug addicts, but then say that you're having to raise your grandkids because YOUR kids are METH addicts?

Wow, your hypocrisy knows no bounds! And it's a ridiculous stereotype to claim that Democrats are mostly (or even most OF the ) druggies.

[JJ_in_tulsa]

a pretty easy argument, you work, you will get less, you hang out and get stoned all the time, you have everything the rest of
america has.
that is the truth of it. And that is the truth of it. THAT is what has happened. The truely lost people are drawing mountains of the money of the working class. That is the way it is,, , this administration thinks that is a "given" if you are black,, and I really object to that idea. I have plenty of black friends who have earned their own way and gotten great jobs. And I don't get why that is a bad idea. I only voted for this stupid idiot because I thought he might get the black community with it, there are plenty who have before,, no, i find this idiot who is also a black guy is a racist,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, who would know? He is the biggest racist I have ever known, and if that is his power,, he is out, because lots of people in this country don't believe in racism,, and we don't.

[nolieshere]

Too much Rush... you need an intervention.

[cassandrayp]

This is crazy talk. He is not a racist but it appears that there are still a lot of you out there. Bush took more money from the middle class in 8 years and gave it to the rich where was your complaint agaqint the hard working people who had to finance the rich through huge tax breaks and other sweet deals. We paid with our tax dollars then. Now that a recession has happen and our country's hard working people who paid their taxes and gave back needed a little help it's bad. This is not a race issue, you are making it one. This has nothing to do about the color of ones's skin. Many Americans who need assistance are all colors. Shame on you.

[JJ_in_tulsa]

I would like for cbs to make this a REAL story,, they prefer to log it down,, that is why i don't bother with this channel, they just can't report anything that affects the American people. And I don't really care the spin they put on it, i just think that the American people have the right to know, and can figure out what they think,, this cbs group think otherwise...... wow, a bunch of "half assed journalists" know more than the American people do,, not just the Obama threat, this is the same bunch.