Well-armed troops on both sides are lining up to fight the fresh battle for health care. The Hill reports that "the summit has altered the political landscape."
Earlier this month, the chances of comprehensive health reform passing by June 30, 2010, hovered in the low 30s, according to the Intrade Prediction Market. The odds have since jumped to 44 percent.
Even though the summit attracted headlines such as "deadlock" and "stalemate," it accomplished many of Obama's goals.
The White House was well aware that Republicans and Democrats were not going to reach a deal at the seven-hour-plus meeting. The summit was intended to turn the page on the Democrats' 2009 mistakes on health reform and improve their message heading into what will likely be a bitter reconciliation battle.
Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), acknowledged that the summit didn't attract GOP votes. They did point out that it increased the chances that a bill will be signed into law in 2010.
But wait! Look at what Senate Democrats and the White House have to deal with, according to Dan Eggen in WaPo.
Reacting to President Obama's recent statements that he will move ahead with legislation, health insurance companies have enlisted hundreds of lobbyists in a full-court press against the proposed overhaul, which would force dramatic cuts and increased regulation on the industry. At the same time, insurers are pushing back against a separate bill approved by the House last week that would remove the industry's antitrust exemption.
Pharmaceutical lobbyists are also targeting Obama's plan, which includes administration proposals to secure an extra $10 billion in cuts from the industry and to ban deals between brand-name and generic drugmakers that keep cheaper medicines off the market.
The ramped-up effort is particularly evident among conservative advocacy organizations, many of which had optimistically halted spending after Democratic reform plans were cast into doubt by the January loss of a Senate seat in Massachusetts. The 60 Plus Association, a conservative group, announced a $500,000 television advertising campaign last week aimed at 18 centrist House Democrats, all of whom voted in favor of reform legislation last fall but whose support is now seen as wobbly.
The National Right To Life Committee -- which strongly opposes the Senate version of the health-care package -- has launched its own grass-roots campaign to pressure dozens of antiabortion Democrats in the House, who are crucial to passage of a final bill. Americans for Prosperity, a conservative Arlington-based group, also says it bought $250,000 worth of television advertising last week and is laying plans for more ads and rallies in March."I think a lot of people thought we had it licked, so it was natural to let up a little bit," said Tim Phillips, president of the Arlington group, which organized hundreds of antireform demonstrations over the past year. "All those thoughts are gone now. We are re-engaged in a big way."
Fortunately, there are hold-outs. The AARP has promised to stay quiet, "lower the temperature" of the debate and Pharma won't be running ads against the bill.
But MoveOn held a successful virtual campaign to influence the Senate, and other pro-health legislation activists have jumped into the fray.
Richard Kirsch, national campaign director for the pro-reform group Health Care for America Now, said the organization plans a large-scale demonstration in Washington on March 9 targeting a policy conference by AHIP, the insurance lobby.
The group also ended an eight-day march last week from Philadelphia to Washington in honor of Melanie Shouse, an Obama supporter whom activists say died of breast cancer because she had no access to health insurance.
"The message we have is simple: Congress should listen to us, not the insurance industry," Kirsch said. "They have to make a decision and decide whose side they're on."
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