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October 21, 2009

Dems living in alternative universe - claim health care process is transparent

Topics: Political News and commentaries

You might want to pinch yourself to make sure you're wide awake and earthbound, unlike the Dems who are claiming that their health care process is open and transparent, and of course, bipartisan:

Under the "health care" heading on the White House Web site, a paragraph reads: "The President has vowed that the health reform process will be different in his Administration - an open, inclusive, and transparent process where all ideas are encouraged and all parties work together to find a solution to the health care crisis."

But after dozens of televised hearings, round tables, markups and press conferences, top White House officials are now meeting in the Capitol with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Max Baucus of Montana, away from Republicans and the press, to meld two very different committee-passed versions of their health care reform bills.

Among the issues that will be decided: Whether to include a public option; whether to require businesses to cover their employees; and how much to subsidize Americans paying for health insurance. The Finance Committee bill sets aside roughly $450 billion over 10 years for subsidies, while the Health Committee would spend roughly $725 billion for them in the same time frame.

Finally, how will it all be paid for? The Finance Committee puts taxes and fees on pricey insurance plans and health care companies, while members of the Health Committee have suggested raising income taxes on the wealthiest Americans, as the House intends to do.

Those decisions will presumably be made once the officials emerge from their negotiations, which began last week, but top Democrats insisted Monday that the process remains open and bipartisan.

So, pray tell, are closed door negotiations away from Republicans and the press considered open, transparent, and bipartisan? These people do indeed live in their own little world. Nothing about the process has been open, transparent, or bipartisan. The Dems on the Senate Finance Committee even voted to not post the final bill for 72 hours before voting on it. Contrary to what the Dems claim, what they're doing is being done in secret with virtually no input from Republicans.

Meanwhile, you can bet the Dems won't be saying much about those not-so-open-and-transparent hidden costs for seniors, either.

Posted by Abdul at October 21, 2009 1:42 PM

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