When he releases his new budget today, President Obama is expected to outline plans to reform the healthcare system. ABC World News (2/25, story 2, 2:45, Tapper) reported that Obama "intends to pay for this healthcare fund through a tax increase through a tax increase on families that make more than $250,000 a year. And by improving efficiencies in Medicare and Medicaid, by, for instance, allowing more generic drugs and cutting down on overpayments to insurers. That process will begin next week when the President convenes a healthcare reform summit. And then the President will then put the job in the hands of Congress."
The CBS Evening News (2/25, lead story, 2:20, Reid) reported that Obama's budget "will include $634 billion to expand health coverage to be paid for by taxing the wealthy and trimming payments to insurance companies, hospitals, and doctors." The administration is calling the Health Care Reserve Fund "a big first step in getting health insurance to America's 48 million uninsured." NBC Nightly News (2/25, lead story, 3:10, Williams) also reported on the plan in its broadcast.
In a front-page story, the Wall Street Journal (2/26, A1, Meckler) notes, "The administration will release only general guidelines Thursday. Among them: Americans should have a choice of health plans and be allowed to keep their employer-sponsored plan if they wish to." The administration will also say "the plan should 'put the United States on a clear path to cover all Americans.'" The Journal adds that "more details are expected next week at a White House summit on healthcare."
The AP (2/26, Crutsinger) also notes "officials characterized" the plan as "'down payment' toward healthcare coverage for every American."
In a front-page story, the New York Times (2/26, A1, Calmes, Pea) describes the proposal as "a pronounced move to redistribute wealth and reimpose a substantially larger share of the tax burden on the most affluent taxpayers." According to "officials," the tax increase "would account for about half of a $634 billion 'reserve fund' that Mr. Obama will set aside in his budget to begin addressing healthcare. The other half would come from Medicare savings."
Also in a front-page story, the Washington Post (2/26, A1, Montgomery) notes, "A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the budget has not been released, said the spending proposal is just a summary of a fleshed-out plan that will be complete in April. In addition, some details were intentionally left out of the document because the president did not want to dictate policy changes to lawmakers." On healthcare reform, the official said, "We're not going to go to Congress and say, 'Here's the plan.' We're starting a conversation and saying, 'This is what we want to get done.'"
The Politico (2/26, Martin, Brown, Frates) reports that "early reviews for Obama's effort were favorable from healthcare advocates." The Politico goes on to run positive comments from Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, and Anna Burger, secretary-treasurer of Service Employees International Union. Also happy with the plan, according to the Wall Street Journal (2/26, A1, Mundy), are "makers of generic drugs," who hailed expected provisions "to set up a faster pathway for generic versions of biologic drugs, the fastest-growing segment of the pharmaceutical industry." The President's budget "included other steps friendly to generics makers. The administration said it wants to end 'evergreening,' in which brand-name makers reformulate existing products and extend the life of their market exclusivity."
But Bloomberg News (2/26, Nichols, Marcus) notes, "The insurance industry began its offensive immediately. The proposed cuts in a program known as Medicare Advantage "must be based on the assumption that millions of seniors would lose important benefits and pay far more for their healthcare," said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans." The Financial Times (2/26, A1, Luce, Goha), McClatchy (2/26, Thomma), CNN (2/26), and AFP (2/26) also cover Obama's plan.
In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal (2/26) is critical of the President's tax plans. The Journal editorializes, "Even the most basic inspection of the IRS income tax statistics shows that raising taxes on the salaries, dividends and capital gains of those making more than $250,000 can't possibly raise enough revenue to fund Mr. Obama's new spending ambitions." According to IRS data, notes the Journal, "3.8 million filers had adjusted gross incomes above $200,000 in 2006," and even "a tax policy that confiscated 100 percent of the taxable income of everyone in America earning over $500,000 in 2006 would only have given Congress an extra $1.3 trillion in revenue. ... The bottom line is that Mr. Obama is selling the country on a two percent illusion," and "taxes on the not-so-rich will need to rise as well."
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