Progress Illinois

Rep. Jan Schakowsky -- chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus' Health Care Task Force -- has not been shy about her support for a public option, pledging to vote against any bill that did not include one. She's also gone on the record in recent weeks insisting that the government-run plan will survive the final months of health care reform negotiations. The North Side Democrat reiterated that belief today at a press conference in D.C., reports Talking Points Memo's Brian Beutler. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Schakowsky at the podium and echoed that sentiment, noting that the fight is not about the inclusion of a public plan but rather how it negotiates rates. "The question is: which form will it take?," Beutler quotes Pelosi saying.

As the health care battle comes to a head on Capitol Hill, this is an encouraging message from two of the most powerful women in Washington.

Here is the latest news from the health care reform battle -- both in D.C. and here in Illinois.

Young People Demand Reform

Republicans looking to downplay the health care crisis in America often portray the population of uninsured young people as a collection of free riders: they can afford to purchase coverage but purportedly choose not to. Rep. Mark Kirk will probably repeat the argument at his latest town hall in Northbrook this morning. But that talking point isn't supported by the facts. Of the 13 million people (28 percent) in their twenties living without insurance, just 10 percent are college graduates and 5 percent have incomes above $60,000 a year. That's a major reason why young people are the age group most supportive of reform.

In latest "Real People Demand Health Reform" video, the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and United Action for Power and Justice talk to three young people who aren't well-served by the current system. Watch it:

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Could the insurance industry's approval of Sen. Max Baucus' (D-MT) watered-down health care bill help galvanize support for a public option? Illinois' own Rep. Jan Schakowsky thinks so. Appearing on Fox Chicago Sunday this past weekend, she told host Jack Conaty that the rally on health insurance stocks last week -- following the introduction of Baucus' bill, which does not include a public plan -- perfectly illustrates who stands to benefit from that proposal. And Schakowsky says that only strengthens progressives' argument in favor of more robust reform.  Watch it (relevant portion begins at the 2:40 mark):

CONATY: Is the public option in health care reform still alive in Washington?

SCHAKOWSKY: I think it's more alive now. After Sen. Baucus introduced his bill, if you look at the stock market, the value of insurance companies soared. It spiked right up because they see this is a perfect deal. How about it? You mandate that everyone get insurance. And then you don't have any competition for the private insurance companies. That's nirvana for them and for the stockholders as well.

So we absolutely need to have some real competition in these uncompetitive markets.  And I think a public option certainly is the way to go.

Think Progress' Igor Volsky took note of the insurance industry's enthusiasm for Baucus' proposal last week and added some additional context. "[S]ince the President signaled that he is backing away from the public option," he wrote, "health insurance stocks have been on the rise."

Progressives should do all they can to highlight the correlation between watered-down reforms and insurance industry enthusiasm.

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For those interested in health care reform, the word of the week is "trigger." Trying to find a compromise on the controversial public option that's politically palatable to both liberals and moderates, Sen. Olympia Snowe -- currently the only Republican interested in finding common ground with the Democrats -- has been pitching the idea. How would it work? Essentially, health care legislation would establish certain benchmarks for affordability. If private insurers could not find a way to lower premium costs for enough people in geographically distinct markets by a still-undetermined deadline, a public option would be introduced into the health insurance exchange. (The New Republic's Suzy Khimm has a good rundown here.)

On MSNBC earlier today, Illinois' own Rep. Jan Schakowsky made clear that she isn't too fond of the idea, reiterating her support for a "a robust public health insurance plan upon implementation, no triggers."

There are good reasons to be skeptical of the trigger approach. For one, to modify their behavior, insurance companies would need to feel threatened by the looming public option, something that isn't likely if the legislation envisioned by Snowe is ultimately implemented. As Ezra Klein notes today, "I've not yet seen a proposal for a trigger where the trigger is set sufficiently low and the public option it would create would be national, rather than state-by-state."

That brings us to our second problem: special interests. Robert Reich explains how insurance companies could use the grace period to blow holes through the trigger instead of working to lower costs:

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While a progressive leader and a vocal supporter of health care reform, Rep. Jan Schakowsky has in recent months failed to join some of her Illinois colleagues in pledging to vote against any reform package that does not include a public insurance option.  Today, however, she released her strongest statement to date, declaring "I will support nothing short of a robust public health insurance plan":

"Many Members of Congress -- including myself -- will not support a health insurance reform bill that does not break the strangle hold of private insurance companies on our health care system.  That requires that consumers have a choice of a robust public health insurance plan.  I will support nothing short of a robust public health insurance plan upon implementation, no triggers.  I believe Congress will pass and the President will sign such a bill this Fall."  

Schakowsky's statement comes on the heels of President Obama's announcement that he plans to scale back and simplify certain contentious aspects of the health care package.  Schakowsky appeared on MSNBC's The Ed Show yesterday to discuss that news and the prospects for meaningful reform this fall.  During the segment, she also derided the "he said/she said" media coverage that has allowed so many misleading claims about the Democratic plan to go unchallenged.  Watch it:

Here's another clip from Rep. Jan Schakowsky's health care town hall meeting in Niles last night.  As you'll see, an audience member asks her to explain the difference between health care and health care coverage. Schakowsky's answer is on point, as she tells two stories that illustrate how Americans can be covered by a private insurer, but still be locked out of receiving affordable care. Watch:

The New York Times editorial board recently highlighted the issue of the underinsured (such as the farmer Schakowsky cites):

The Commonwealth Fund estimates that 25 million Americans who had health insurance in 2007 had woefully inadequate policies with high deductibles and restrictions that stuck them with large amounts of uncovered expenses. Many postponed needed treatments or went into debt to pay medical bills.

And to learn more about rescission -- the reprehensible insurer practice described in Schakowsky's second anecdote -- check out this post from July.

We attended Rep. Jan Schakowsky's health care town hall meeting in Niles last night where over 2,000 people showed up, packing a high school auditorium and spilling onto the sidewalk outside.  There was a real variety of opinion expressed during the 90-minute meeting, with opponents and supporters of the Democrats' health care reform proposal both well-represented.  

One of the more disturbing moments, however, came right after the first line of Schakowsky's brief introductory speech: "You know, Ted Kennedy had said that this was the great issue of his life," she began.  That initial remark was met with applause and also a surprisingly large number of ... boos.     

That's right: Less than a week after the Massachusetts senator passed away and two days after his funeral, a good number of those in attendance felt it necessary to boo at the mention of his commitment to expanding health care access.  Watch it:

Stay classy, guys.

We'll be posting several other notable videos from the meeting as the day progresses.  In the meantime, check out the Tribune article as well as this great video produced by the Daily Herald and largely shot outside the auditorium, where protesters from both side of the debate gathered. 

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Here are today's health care headlines:

Schakowsky: We're Going To Have To Do It Without GOP

Are Democrats really ready to pass health care reform without Republican support? Rep. Jan Schakowsky thinks so. Here's her quote to The Hill this morning:

“I think that at some point everyone’s going to see that the Republicans simply are not going to agree to any kind of healthcare reform that the insurance industry isn’t supporting and that, reluctantly, we’re going to have to do it without them,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.).

“If we have to, we will,” said Schakowsky, a chief deputy whip and the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus's healthcare task force.

This follows news Sunday that Senate Democratic leaders are drawing up plans and talking to procedural experts about moving legislation with a simple majority. It's tough to blame them. Even supposed moderate Republicans in Congress are consistently pushing explicit lies about the bills being considered, seemingly all for political gain. "I think we have now the makings," Rep. Mark Kirk told WLS' Don Wade and Roma last week, "of huge Republican win in the November 2010 elections." Spoken like a true voice of the people.

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In the wake of President Obama's recent pledge to begin his push for comprehensive immigration reform this year, local activists today continued their campaign to ratchet up political pressure on the White House. Members of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) delivered more than 9,100 petitions to the Department of Homeland Security's Chicago office, urging Secretary Janet Napolitano to impose a moratorium on harsh enforcement tactics and the ensuing detention mess while potential reforms are debated.

Among the public officials on hand at an ICIRR press conference in the Loop was Illinois' own Rep. Jan Schakowsky. "The president, Barack Obama, said, 'We can get this done,' " the North Side congresswoman told reporters. "So why would the government persist in these policies of deportation, of dividing families? ... This is just wrong" Watch her remarks:

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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.

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