Academic supporter of conservative Senate health care reform bill-secretly paid consultant to Obama

[kpete]

Friday, January 08, 2010
Academic supporter of conservative Senate health care reform bill is secret paid consultant to Obama administration (to the tune of almost $400,000)
by Joe Sudbay (DC) on 1/08/2010 11:34:00 AM

Call him the Cadillac Consultant. He's Jonathan Gruber. One of the most quoted defenders of President Obama's proposal to tax so-called "cadillac" health care plans, and a big defender of the more-conservative Senate version of health care reform. He also has secretly received nearly $400,000 from the Obama administration to consult on... what? Health care reform.

Funny thing, Jonathan Gruber isn't just an "MIT economist and a leading proponent of the new tax." He's a highly-paid health care reform consultant to the Obama administration.

MIT health economist Jonathan Gruber has been the go-to source that all the health care bill apologists point to to defend otherwise dubious arguments. But he has consistently failed to disclose that he has had a sole-source contract with the Department of Health and Human Services since June 19, 2009 to consult on the “President’s health reform proposal.”

He is one source for the claim that the excise tax will result in raises for workers (though his underlying study is in-apt to the excise tax question). He is the basis for the argument that the Senate bill reduces families’ risk–even if it remains totally unaffordable.

Marcy reports that Gruber has been paid $392,000 by the Obama administration. One of Marcy's links is to an op-ed Gruber wrote for the Washington Post on December 28, 2009 titled "'Cadillac' tax isn't a tax -- it's a plan to finance real health reform."
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/01/07/jonathan-grubers-rent-a-scholarship/

more, plus links:
http://www.americablog.com/2010/01/academic-supporter-of-cadillac-tax-plan.html

[QC]

1. We used to get really angry around here when Bush did this sort of thing. n/t

[dgibby]

3. Some of us still do. n/t

[Hell Hath No Fury]

13. You rang?

Fuck. That. Shit. :mad:

[debbierlus]

17. The top rated posts are all about health insurance reform and the outrage of the whole thing

Just because a few straggling defenders continue to march in lockstep, that does not mean the majority aren't boiling angry over this atrocity.

[QC]

18. True. n/t

[n2doc]

2. That's a lot of simoleons n/t

[Bluebear]

7. Gran! Graak vittuu.

:angry:

[HughMoran]

4. Never heard of him

[bigtree]

5. He was called the Democratic Party's "most influential health-care expert" by the Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070902029.html


"Gruber has generally worked with Democrats, including all three of the leading presidential candidates in 2008, although he has advised some Republicans, as well. He was a key architect of the sweeping health insurance reforms that Massachusetts enacted in 2006, while Mitt Romney was governor. Gruber currently sits on the board of the state's "Connector," which helps oversee the implementation of those reforms."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Gruber_%28economist%29

[HughMoran]

6. Still haven't heard him quoted. He does defend himself - so I guess we can discuss that too...

I asked Gruber about the reports, and he responded by stressing that the contract was not for public relations, but for analysis, and that he's long advocated for a consistent set of policies:

I do indeed have a contract with HHS. Throughout this year I have provided technical assistance to the administration and to Congress with my micro-simulation model, as well as based on my experience as a member of the Massachusetts health connector board. But NONE of the work I have done in public, or any public declarations I ahve made, has been in any way funded by the Administration. That funding was strictly for internal work that I did for the administration and, via the administration, for congress. All externally visible work and comments, such as my editorials or public reports, have been done on my own time.

Moreover, at no time have I publicly advocated a position that I did not firmly believe - indeed, I have been completely consistent with my academic track record. On the two issues this article raises:

1) I am known in economics as one of the leading experts on the impact of health insurance costs on wages - indeed, I wrote my thesis on that topic and have written extensively since on the fact that health insurance costs are fully translated into wages. I was asked by the editors of the Handbook of Health Economics, a review of literature in this area, to write the review article on this topic.

2) In my role as a member of the MA Health Connector board, I had to help decide what were affordable subsidies for our citizens. I was surprised to find how little work there was on this topic so I undertook a study to help lay out what might be considered affordable. I have since replicated that analysis at the federal level. Every position I have advocated on this topic is completely consistent with these reports.

...

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0110/Gruber_responds_Completely_consistent.html?showall

Not fond of using Politico, but that's who he talked to.

[bigtree]

11. the neocons at Politico

. . . have been very busy promoting Gruber and his views.

[Bluebear]

8. Publicly pushing policy that he is privately being paid a ton of money to assist

Lovely.

[jgraz]

9. Armstrong Williams?

When people argue that Obama really is different from Bush, it's THESE sorts of things that should be "really different". Otherwise, it's just a new suit and prettier words.

[bvar22]

10. One of DUs more prolific posters,

...and chronic supporter of Obama/Senate Health "Care" plans constantly posts stuff from Jonathan Gruber.

[QC]

12. KICK!

[Yuugal]

14. Kick nt

[avaistheone1]

15. Totally disgusting and unacceptable.

This sure explains a great deal. Now we know why Obama never championed real health reform, and why single payer never received a seat at the table.

[slipslidingaway]

16. knr n/t