Obama Has Met At Least 27 Times With Private Health Care Industry Executives

[KoKo]

Sam Stein
[e-mail] | HuffPost Reporting


President Barack Obama has hosted at least 27 meetings with some of the most influential private health-industry executives in the country in an effort to placate or at least quiet potential opponents of reform in what remains a tenuous legislative process.

Under pressure from a good-government organization, the White House released on Wednesday evening the names of industry officials whom the president has met and the dates of their meetings. The records show that, from early February to late June, the White House has invited 15 of the health care and pharmaceutical industry's most powerful players.

The president's meetings were handed over to the good government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which had filed a lawsuit seeking the information. But the disclosure came roughly 50 minutes before the president hosted a prime-time news conference on the topic of health care reform. And the White House communications team reached out to the press corps about their plans for releasing the records several hours before they ever touched base with CREW, an official with the group confirmed. In short, the timing and process seemed geared towards diminishing the story's coverage.

Nevertheless, the names and dates provide a window into how wide a net the president has cast in his efforts to bring all parties to the table and craft health care reform. Many meetings involved a group of industry executives coming to the White House together

.

* PhRMA President and CEO Billy Tauzin visited the White House on March 5, May 19, June 2, and June 24.
* Karen Ignagni, president and chief executive officer of America's Health Insurance Plans, visited the White House on March 5, 6, and 11 and June 30.
* Richard Umbdenstock, the president and chief executive officer of the American Hospital Association, visited the White House on February 4, February 23; March 5, March 25, March 30; April 6, and May 22.
* Dr. James Rohack, who is president of the American Medical Association visited the White House on March 25, June 22, and June 24. The latter two visits came less than two weeks after the AMA said it would oppose a public plan for insurance coverage. The group has since retracted its position.

The back story behind the Wednesday afternoon records release may be as fascinating as the records themselves, providing a small window into how the White House handles an unfavorable story on a sensitive subject.

On Wednesday morning, the Los Angeles Times published a story revealing that the Obama White House was refusing to release records of meetings it had allegedly held with 18 private health care industry executives (the number ended up being 15). Later in the day, CREW filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security seeking to obtain those records.

The story was politically damaging. As pointed out by Josh Orton at the site MyDD, Obama's campaign website still lists his pledge to do away with excessive government secrecy. And in an interview with the Huffington Post, CREW's chief counsel, Anne Weismann, declared that Obama's refusal to release the names of health care executives mirrored the much-maligned, closed door energy policy task force led by former vice president Dick Cheney.

MORE of this at........
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/22/obamas-private-health-car_n_243115.html

[babylonsister]

1. The more, the merrier. He's not smart for nothin'. nt

[RandomThoughts]

2. Proof is in the pudding.

We will know when the Bill gets passed and implemented. The rest is conjecture.

[dflprincess]

3. After the bill is passed, it's too late

we need to know exactly what's going on now. Though the way the House bill protects the for profits, we can probably make some good guesses.

[RandomThoughts]

4. I agree that we need a good bill, and we need to pay attention.

But if the bill is good, then Americans will see the people that voted for them were working for them.

If a bad version passed that a few liked, then people would see what that is about also.

So we should work to get a good version passed for the good of the American people, legislators and companies. Because if it is not good for the American people, legislators and companies are screwed.

Because either everyone wins, or everyone loses.

[pam4water]

6. Good point

[global1]

5. What Other Type Of Health Care Executives Are There To Meet With?.......

Our current health care system is a 'private' system.

There are no 'public' health care industry executives yet.