The latest news from the health care battlefield ...

Schakowsky: "Nothing Has Changed" On Public Option

In our round-up on Monday, we noted what appeared to be hints -- albeit not new ones -- that the White House is not wedded to including a public insurance option in its health reform package.  House progressives pushed back with a letter earlier this week and now Rep. Jan Schakowsky tells The Hill that she has received assurances from the Obama administration that the public plan is still very much on the table:

Schakowsky said she received a "question and answer" memo Monday from the White House that laid out the president's support for a government-run option that would compete with private insurers.

The memo said that "nothing has changed" and Obama views the public option as the "best way" to achieve his healthcare goals.

Meanwhile, Steve Benen points out that the White House's effort to make health reform a bipartisan exercise has been entirely unsuccessful:

This week, however, we seem to have reached the tipping point. A variety of GOP leaders explained that Dems could drop the public option altogether, and it wouldn't make any difference. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who's become increasingly belligerent about the very idea of reform, said he's prepared to vote against his own compromise bill. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) announced that Republicans will reject reform no matter what's in the bill.

Indeed, the New York Times reports today that "Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority's cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks."  This shift means there will increased focus on Illinois' numerous wavering Democrats, including Reps. Bill Foster, Melissa Bean, Debbie Halvorson, and Jerry Costello.

"The Bulging Brown Wallet"

On his blog today, the Tribune's Eric Zorn lists the astronomic salaries enjoyed by various health insurance CEOs and says reform advocates should use a new symbol in the health reform debate: the "bulging brown wallet."  He adds: 

[W]hat do you get in return? What value do these men and women -- these private companies -- add to your relationship between you and your doctor, a relationship in the middle of which they stand, their purses and trousers sagging from the weight of all that intercepted money?

As we've noted before, this should really be a larger element in the Democrats' messaging.  On a recent WTTW appearance, the Campaign for Better Health Care's Jim Duffett did a good job on this front, telling viewers that government insurance plans are partly more efficient because "the head of HHS [Health and Human Services] doesn't make $15 million or $20 million that the head of United Healthcare makes."