Dems Plot Post-Summit Health Care Coup

(CBS/AP)  President Obama and congressional Democrats, holding out little hope for Thursday's televised bipartisan summit on health care, are prepared to try for a far-reaching bill in the coming weeks without a single Republican vote.

Barring an unexpected two-party breakthrough at the summit, Democratic leaders feel they can't afford to fail, leaving them empty-handed on a huge priority in an already difficult election year. It's far from clear they can gather the votes, however, and it will take a major effort to unite fractious Democrats.

A breakthrough isn't really what the White House is looking for, reports CBS News chief White House correspondent Chip Reid. "Today's meeting is about politics... The president's aides don't see Republicans dropping their opposition, but they do hope to convince enough of the Democrats frightened by the widespread opposition in this election year."

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

A bipartisan compromise seems highly unlikely, members of both parties said Wednesday. Popular insurance reform measures, which Republicans might support, require Democratic-backed measures the GOP staunchly opposes, such as government subsidies to enable millions of low-income Americans to buy health coverage.

For the first time, Mr. Obama has CBS Radio News White House correspondent Mark Knoller. "They don't want to add to it. They want to tear it apart and eliminate most of its elements."In his preview analysis of the health care summit, Knoller says the televised powwow is virtually guaranteed to yield little more than six hours of political posturing - what may seem to viewers as "an endless infomercial of opposing views on government-mandated health care coverage."

With Democrats unwilling scrap Mr. Obama's plan and start from scratch, "I think it's nearly impossible to imagine a scenario under which we could reach an agreement," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will attend the televised six-hour meeting across from the White House.

Given such comments, Democratic leaders say they hope to persuade House Democrats to swallow their objections and approve a health bill the Senate passed on Christmas Eve. In return, Senate Democrats would have to agree to make various changes to health care laws under budget reconciliation rules, which bar GOP delaying tactics.

"Tomorrow we'll have that meeting .... But far more important after that meeting, you can either join us or get out of the way," Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said at a rally Wednesday.

Smoke and Mirrors? In a reporter roundtable previewing the televised health care summit, CBS News correspondent Bob Orr speaks with Politico's Nia-Malika Henderson and Washington Post's Michael Shear. Click below to watch:

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Said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., "If the Republicans refuse to support the end of debate so that a majority can work its will we're fortunate enough to have a process so the majority can work its will through the reconciliation activities."

While deriding the summit, Republicans plan to focus on six main areas, according to congressional aides: state incentives to lower costs; making insurance affordable to those with pre-existing conditions; purchasing health insurance across state lines; ending frivolous lawsuits; small business health plans and expanding health savings accounts.

Democrats control 59 of the Senate's 100 seats, one vote short of the number needed to stop GOP filibusters. Republicans strenuously oppose using the reconciliation strategy, but Democrats note the GOP has used it for major legislation in years past.

The House in November passed its version of the health care overhaul 220-215, with 39 Democrats abandoning their party's leaders. Those leaders now fear they will lose even more votes over an abortion dispute, and it's unclear whether they can persuade enough of the 39 to come on board to make up the difference.

Democrats easily came together on one of the more popular health care issues Wednesday, as the House voted overwhelmingly to repeal the health insurance industry's exemption from federal antitrust oversight. The vote gave Democrats a win on the eve of the summit.

The 406-19 vote was part of a multipronged attack by Democrats against the unpopular industry. At a contentious House hearing, Democrats confronted executives of one company that has sought rate increases of up to 39 percent in California and accused them of purging their sickest customers while spending millions on exorbitant salaries and retreats at ritzy resorts for executives.

And Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote to the heads of five major insurance companies asking them to meet with her to justify their pricing policies.

All three moves were more symbolic than substantive, but together they underscored how Democrats view attacks on the widely disliked health insurance industry as one way to revive support for their health care drive, both with the public and among their own lawmakers.

"Health insurance premiums continue to spiral ever upward each year. The copayments and deductibles keep taking further bites out of tight family budgets," said Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., as the House debated the antitrust bill.

The legislation passed Wednesday would put insurers under federal antitrust jurisdiction by amending a 1945 law that gave states, not the federal government, the authority to regulate competition issues within the insurance industry.

Independent experts largely agree that the change would have minimal effect, in part because of the regulatory role states already play. The Congressional Budget Office has said that removing the antitrust exemption would have "no significant effects" on premium prices or the federal budget.

The powerful health insurance lobby America's Health Insurance Plans did not make defeating the bill a priority and Republicans criticized the legislation as ineffectual. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said the bill had "all the substance of a soup made by boiling the shadow of a chicken."

The legislation faces dim prospects in the Senate.

Even as the House debated the antitrust bill, executives of WellPoint Inc. were under fire from the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said his panel's investigators had received internal company documents showing that in 2008, 39 company executives received salaries of $1 million or more. And in 2007 and 2008, it spent $27 million for executive retreats, which Democrats said included stays at fancy resorts in Hawaii and Arizona.

WellPoint owns Anthem Blue Cross, which wants to raise rates on individual policyholders in California. WellPoint president Angela Braly blamed the increases on the growing price tags for hospital care and pharmaceuticals. She also cited the ailing economy, which has caused many younger, healthier people to save money by dropping coverage, leaving her company covering an older, sicker population.

More Coverage of the Health Care Summit:

TV Coverage Limits Success of Health Care Summit
Washington Unplugged: Health Care Summit Smoke and Mirrors?
Before Health Care Summit, GOP Wants Its Table
"Hopeful" Rhetoric Ahead of Health Care Summit
GOP Disses Health Care Summit, But Asks for More Invites
Advice for the Health Care Summit from Two Presidents Named George
Americans Running Out of Patience on Health Care, Polls Show
Obama's Health Care Plan at a Glance
A War of Words Before the Health Care Summit

[-One_American-]

Social Security is going broke, Medicare is going broke, we have trillions in debt already, and Obama wants to spend trillions more - in spite of what the vast majority of Americans are telling him.

Obama is an epic failure.

[-One_American-]

After Obama and the Democrats force this health care fiasco down the throats of Americans - just imagine how difficult it will be to get health care when insurance companies close their doors, doctors quit their practice, and millions of people loose their health benefits because the Obama plan does nothing to contain costs.

That's when things get REAL ugly for Obama and the Democrats.

Maybe they should start building their underground bunkers right now...

[noloyalisti]

The only thing that will really save money, improve quality and cover everyone is universal single payer health care. If that is what the Republicans are so concerned about, and it sure seemed today that is their beef, they should support this. They are, after all, the party of fiscal responsibility.

[Empire-George-]

by slownewsday_____ February 25, 2010 3:08 PM EST

How about the Swiss Model ?....how's it going slownews ?

What do you think about the use of "reconciliation" which was designed to be used only for budget bills and not intended for "legislation"...what do you think about the Democrats using this to ram the legislation through, despite not having the votes ? they have to change the Senate rules just to use reconciliation at all.....this is low and underhanded/dishonest.

[slownewsday_____]

Hey, Joe -

Reconciliation is nothing new - been used almost two dozen times, I believe.

My opinion on it really depends on what they are pushing through... My main goal is to see people not be denied for pre-existing conditions or dropped when they've done nothing wrong. Put either of those things in there, and I don't care how they pass it, honestly.

Per changing the rules: Interestingly, when filibusters first came into fashion, the rule was that you needed 67 senators to override 'em - then they changed it to 60. Congress just changes the rules whenever it sees fit.

[mikelpond]

so; it was fine for Republican tax cuts for the rich but not so much when it's something for the rest of us? You're a tool George, probably a rich tool or a really stupid tool. I'm sorry, it's true, and the rest of us have had it.

[pr_boxer]

I am totally fed up with the "do nothing" obstructionist Republicans in this country. I can't understand how anyone can continue even being civil to crooks like Mitch McConnell and Lamar Alexander. Those two are simply well paid puppets of the insurance industry.

As long as that fillibuster senate rule , which was enacted to preserve racial segregation, stands this will continue. 46 Million Americans have little or no health care, if the Republicans cared at all they couldn't sleep at all.

[jschmidt27]

You should be angry at the crooks the Dems have in leadership positions such as, Rangel, Waters, Frank,Murtha, Dodd. The only people keeping this bill that the vast majority do not want from being law are the Republicans. They are the only adults in COngress. The rest just think we can tax and spend and the economy will be ok. Well everything the Dems have touched have failed and the economy is not going to recover until the Dems cut govt costs and debt, which is not going to happen. I'll be voting against every Democrat I can in November.

[slownewsday_____]

"The only people keeping this bill that the vast majority do not want from being law are the Republicans. They are the only adults in COngress."


Schmitty - the Repubs aren't doing anything to keep this bill from becoming law. They can't. That's what the article is about. Did you not read it?

Both parties are to blame. The fingerpointing accomplishes nothing.

[jschmidt27]

The whole conference is a farce since the Dems plan on doing what they want to. But will the Dems even be able to muster a majority in the Senate to pass this bill considering most Americans are against it. The Dems see it as winning brownie points with the voters,lawyers and unions. In reality a bill like this that will damage the economy is going to increase voter anger.

[-One_American-]

Not only will Obama's Marxist agenda to force his Obamacare plan down the throats of Americans fail to control costs or improve health care - it will also be the cause of the rollback of other entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicade, Welfare, College Grants et al.

In other words, the government is going broke and Americans can no longer afford to pay for it.

Obama is like an drug addict that has to hit bottom before he can recover - and his drugs of choice are spending taxdollars and lust of power.

Obama is in freefall.

[stormerF2]

The Democrats keep saying this will drive down health care costs,but it has been proven it will not.Why do the people in Ks want to pay for the People in Flordia for their Medicare advantage,or for a 100 million dollar hospital in Connecticut? Or wait 12 years to buy generic drugs if your on Medicare. There are to many special interest deals in this bill,that smack of bribery.

[noloyalisti]

It's funny watching the health care "debate" and realizing all the people in that room have socialist health care. And get mail from the socialist post office, drove to work on the socialist roads and are protected by socialist police and security guards. And support socialism for the rich corporations.

[ibzjem]

I concur!

[wjksea]

The masses must realize that the interests of the plutocracy do not match their own. A government of a people must become a "we" society and much less of a "me" society as was illustrated by the boomer generation who sold this nations posterity off for short term gain.