In a letter to Senators Max Baucus and Edward Kennedy on Wednesday, President Obama emphasized that Medicare and Medicaid spending must be reined in by $200 to $300 billion over the next 10 years to fund comprehensive healthcare reform. To help accomplish that goal, Obama said that he was “open” to allowing the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC) cost reduction recommendations to “be adopted unless opposed by a joint resolution of the Congress”—a measure that would “achieve health care reform in a fiscally responsible way,” Obama said.
Last month, Senator Jay Rockefeller IV (D- W. Va.) introduced a bill that would establish MedPAC as an independent executive branch agency, similar to the Federal Reserve Board, and give it the power to enact its reimbursement policies free “from the influence of special interests,” said Rockefeller. “Congress has proven itself to be inefficient and inconsistent in making decisions about provider reimbursement under Medicare. If we want serious improvements in our health care delivery system, then we need to reform MedPAC’s current authority to include fully establishing and implementing Medicare reimbursement rules. Congress should leave the reimbursement rules to the independent health care experts.”
President Obama’s letter also left no doubt that he believes that reform needs to include a public health plan to give Americans “a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive, and keep insurance companies honest.” On another controversial issue, Obama stated that he supports the concept of “shared responsibility--making every American responsible for having health insurance coverage and asking that employers share in the cost.” Small businesses, however, should be exempt from the requirement of providing health insurance for their employees, Obama said.
