Why the Hell Did Judd Gregg Release a Health Care Plan?

Published June 02, 2009 @ 07:51PM PT

We have the prevailing “consensus” model of health care championed by the president, Sen. Kennedy, Sen. Baucus and the House committee chairs. We have the Wyden-Bennett plan, which gets bipartisan kudos. We have Medicare for All, HR 676, which has strong support in the House and at the grassroots. We have the Republican alternative Patient’s Choice Act in the House and the Senate. And now, because no one demanded it, we have a new plan from Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), called the “Coverage, Prevention, Reform” or CPR plan. Which begs the obvious question:

Why the hell did Judd Gregg need to release a health care plan?

According to the Politico, Gregg’s rationale is, “I stepped back one week and said, ‘Let’s hold it. What would I do if I could do what I thought was most effective?’” All well and good. I’m generally positive about United States Senators engaging in the issues of the day, particularly ones that affect so many of their constituents. But in this case, “engaging” has meant “come up with a health care plan like a 7-year old would play with Leggos.”

Because, honestly, there’s very little new, here. For a plan that’s hyped as showing Gregg’s “independent style,” it reads like mix and match, or maybe Romney-care Plus. Take the Massachusetts model, with its state-based exchange, subsidies based on income and individual mandate. Add a cap on the employer benefits tax exemption similar to what Baucus has toyed with. Throw in the tax credits of the Patient’s Choice Act or the John McCain plan (OK, a little more generous than that, but still). Throw in the usual mix of “we need to invest in prevention” and “we need to decrease hospital readmissions” and “we need to incentivize better decisions”, shake it all up, and you basically have a plan that practically reads like a tag cloud of everyone else’s plans. One detail stands out – allowing HIPAA to pay for wellness programs that “exceed 20 % of the cost of employee-only coverage under a group health plan.” That’s literally the only sentence I feel like I haven’t read before. And you know what? I’m not sure I understand what it means.

I thought I could at least count on some Frank Luntz-style rhetoric like the Patient’s Choice Act, which spends as much time talking about the ills of government intervention as it does laying out its own plan (which, incidentally, calls for a lot of government intervention.) Gregg’s plan disappoints here, too. I thought for sure comparative effectiveness would draw some scorn, but no dice: “This proposal would require the analysis of health care data for quality and efficiency with the results disseminated to payers, beneficiaries and the public.” No tirade about disrupting the relationship between a doctor and a patient with the fruit from your tree of forbidden effectiveness research? Sheesh. I can’t even give Gregg style points for the CPR abbreviation, since that too is merely following on the heels of Conservatives for Patients Rights.

So what was the point? Gregg sits on the Senate Finance Committee and sits in on the closed door discussions for drafting the committee health care bill. He could also have made waves by “defecting” to the Patient’s Choice Act, but didn’t. Heck, he could have had influence as Obama’s Secretary of Commerce before he declared a “do over” on his nomination. And, as the interview reminds us, he’s not running for re-election. So how does he benefit for making headlines for a day only to have his plan immediately go to the dustbin of history?

Much like Arlen Specter in general or Ben Nelson’s sudden openness to the public health insurance option, the most the Gregg health care reform plan indicates is which way the wind is blowing.

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Comments (8)

yeah, and this says a whole lot about the merits of the obama plan.

Posted by Lauren Serven on 06/02/2009 @ 10:22PM PT
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OK Tim, I know I'm going out on a limb here, but I've heard about things like this happening in free countries. (We actually were one once) Anybody can introduce ideas and even express opinions. Sometimes the ideas are stupid. sometimes they are even offensive. That's how these free countries work supposedly!

Posted by Charlie Reed on 06/03/2009 @ 08:25AM PT
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Charlie, I'm not saying he shouldn't have -- of course, he has the right to propose whatever he wants.

I just can't for the life of me figure out what he gained by doing so.

Posted by Timothy Foley on 06/03/2009 @ 08:59AM PT
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Tim,

You asked what Senator Gregg has to gain. Uh,maybe he's just doing his job, the one that his constituents sent him to Washington to do? One of the big problems with about 99% of the people in Washington is the "what's in it for me" mentality. Our congress people were sent there by "we the people" and are supposed to work for us, but most of them don't do that anymore.

Posted by Julia O on 06/11/2009 @ 03:47AM PT
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I Might have overreacted Tim. Iam perhaps a little too on guard these days, and ready to defend free speech and the democratic process. I have seen too much erosion of both in My lifetime. I wish this healthcare thing would get ironed out soon, although of course it never will be completely, that is you can not please everyone.

Posted by Charlie Reed on 06/03/2009 @ 09:33AM PT
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In our state, we don't need to "release" any more plans. Our plan is sitting on our governor's desk, with veto-proof majoritiers waiting in the wings.

Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell will soon receive on her desk a bill passed overwhelmingly by our state House and Senate called "SustiNet." It sets up a public plan that is more inclusive AND more sustainable than any of the public options being discussed in DC right now. You can learn more about it at www.healthcare4every1.org.

Also, check out Gov. Rell’s new health care reform video at: http://tinyurl.com/kkvyme.

Here in the Nutmeg State, we've got momentum for landmark reform legislation!

Posted by Bob Slate on 06/03/2009 @ 12:51PM PT
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hi bob
as a CT resident, i too hope jodi signs the bill, although i have heard from some political operatives that she may not. she will probably follow in the footsteps of arnold, and today i heard that CA is $26B in the hole. you think he'd want to get a break on those insurance premiums. come to think of it, CT isn't in such great shape either.

Charlie, i know how you feel about free speech. it seems like free and open dialog is something only granted to individuals or groups who are aligned with a particular political or economic philosophy. free speech, when directed at government, really isn't free unless those in government are willing to listen. advocates for single payer were heard today, or at least a show of listening was conducted. regardless of what one thinks to be the "best" reform solution, we should all be alarmed when government closes off to a significant number of it's citizens. the power of big money in government, as illustrated by the health reform movement, has me not only on guard but nauseous.

Posted by Lauren Serven on 06/03/2009 @ 02:00PM PT
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Thank you Lauren, I think We had better all stay on Our toes, and I mean whatever party is in office, They both stink!

Posted by Charlie Reed on 06/04/2009 @ 07:17PM PT
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Tim has been an online organizer and blogger on health care policy for the Obama for America campaign (during the primaries) and currently for the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare, a labor union for intern and resident doctors. Views expressed here are Tim's, and don't represent the positions of CIR or SEIU.