Biden promises to listen to GOP's health care ideas, but some Republicans are not convinced

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Feb 14 2010

The health care reform legislation may have been eclipsed recently by the jobs bill and the war in Afghanistan for top billing on the Sunday morning news shows. But Democrats and Republicans still found time to push their positions on health policy Sunday.

The Associated Press/Washington Post report that Vice President Joseph Biden on NBC's "Meet the Press" said that "the White House is ready and willing to listen to health care ideas from Republicans. President Barack Obama has invited members of both parties to the White House for a televised meeting on Feb. 25 in hopes of reaching a deal on health care. … Biden says the keys are to control rising insurance premiums, control government spending on Medicare and Medicare and address insurance coverage issues." (2/14)

Biden, however, declined "to confirm reports that he advised President Barack Obama last January not to pursue health care reform because of the economic crisis," Politico reported. (Lee, 2/14).

Earlier reports about the White House invitations to the health care summit and Republican reactions can be found here.

In another blog post, Politico notes that Republicans are still not convinced that Democrats want their help on health care. "It remains to be seen whether President Barack Obama's new bipartisanship outreach is legit or just a trap, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on 'Fox News Sunday.' … 'I think health care will determine that,' Graham said. 'What will this meeting be like? Will it be a lecture to us as Republicans as to why we should support this big bill with a few changes? Or will it be a desire to start over and get our input? That will be his first test'" (Lee, 2/14).

Congress Daily reports: Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. said on CNN's "State of the Union" that "it would be 'pointless' for congressional Republicans to participate in healthcare talks at the White House if Democrats have already devised a plan to push a pre-negotiated reconciliation bill. … 'I don't know why we would be having a bipartisan summit down at the White House if they've already decided on this other process by which they are going to jam the bill through. ... If that's the case, then obviously it's pointless to talk, because they've made up their minds. And they are going to ram it through whether we like it or the American people like it'" (House, 2/14).

The Hill reports: "Instead, Kyl called for redrafting the legislation from scratch — another common GOP claim in recent weeks — and argued that it should start with limits on medical malpractice lawsuits. 'It's not a matter of taking this or that out of the Senate-passed bill or the House-passed bill, it's a matter of starting with basic principles and going one step at a time, solving particular problems,' Kyl said" (Rushing, 2/14).

This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.