Questionable assertions in Obama's health care speech: Capretta at AEI

AEI Event: "Health Reform Then and Now: What Do We Need to Know?" September 11, 2009 http://www.aei.org/event/100120

Event information: President Obama has tried to avoid the mistakes many say doomed the Clinton health reform effort. Clinton presented a detailed plan to Congress as a fait accompli; Obama has bided his time, allowing Congress to develop its own plan. While this might be a more effective political strategy, it has resulted in a public debate hampered by limited and conflicting information about how health reform might affect families, health care providers, insurers, employers, public programs, and the economy. What did we know in 1994 that we do not know now? What do we need to know to fairly judge the merits of alternative reform proposals emerging from Congress? Will the presidents game plan produce reform legislation he can sign into law?

A distinguished panel of experts who played key roles during the 1993-94 debates will discuss these issues. Robert Reischauer, president of the Urban Institute, directed the Congressional Budget Office during the Clinton reform era. Bill Gradison, member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, was president of the Health Insurance Association of America in the 1990s. Len Nichols, director of health policy at the New America Foundation, served as senior adviser for health policy at the Office of Management and Budget. James Capretta, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, was a senior staff member of the Senate Budget Committee during the 1990s and later became associate director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush. Dean Rosen, a partner at Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, was health policy coordinator for the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources during the 1990s and more recently was chief health care advisor to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. AEI's Joseph Antos will moderate and participate in the discussion.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• health reform
• obama
• healthcare
• health care
• James Capretta
• AEI
• Health Insurance

[appletonp]

not sure what planet has neutral referee of these assertions