HHS: The buzz on Ron Wyden

Kari Chisholm FacebookTwitterWebsite

It looks like Oregon continues to be right in the midst of national health care reform. Both Senator Ron Wyden and former Governor John Kitzhaber are being widely mentioned as possible appointees for Secretary of Health and Human Services, as well as the director of the White House Office of Health Reform.

In addition to the initial mentions I noted yesterday, here's a bunch of the latest buzz on Ron Wyden. (See the Kitzhaber buzz here.)

So, there's the buzz on Wyden. Check out the latest buzz on John Kitzhaber getting the HHS gig.

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    Full disclosure: My firm manages Ron Wyden's campaign and policy-promotion website.

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    I don't think either is likely to be picked, but I'd think Wyden's chances are much better than Kitzhaber's.

    Wyden's advantage is that a lot of people back in Washington, D.C. know him. Kitzhaber's disadvantage is that a lot of people back in Washington, D.C. know him, too.

  • LT (unverified)
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    2 things:

    1) My first choice is Dr. Howard Dean--an MD with experience in small state medicine, and as DNC chair was a turnaround artist (when he was first elected DNC chair, Capitol Steps did a song to the tune of Impossible Dream with the line "But instead of a doctor we need a mortician instead".

    2) I lived through the 1995-96 special election process, and is that really what this state needs now?

  • Glen HD28 (unverified)
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    Is this actually just a clever ploy by our pal Steve Novick to become the Junior Senator (by less than two months) from Oregon? If Wyden were to become Sec/HHS, I think Steve would be an excellent appointment to replace him in the US Senate.

    I can just picture Old Gordy squirming in his Brioni pajamas!

  • Insider (unverified)
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    An open Senate seat in Oregon would be filled by a special election, not by appointment.

    Since many, many state and congressional elected officials could freely run without any of them giving up their seats, Steve Novick could well get squeezed out.

  • Chuck Butcher (unverified)
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    I'll give you a real good buzz about Ron Wyden, he's one of the best Senators in the place and real vauluable doing that job, there are lots of politicians without important jobs that can do HHS that doesn't mean stripping another valuable asset out of the Senate.

  • JTF (unverified)
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    The big problem Kari conveniently overlooks is that Ron Wyden IS NOT respected for his health care plan by those most engaged in representing the viewpoint of >60% of the American public who say we need the health insurance industry out of health care. The same constituency responsible for electing Obama.

    His plan is a sell-out to the insurance industry and is now widely recognized as such. Furthermore, the fundamental philosophy his plan embodies does not at all match the values Obama has claimed informs his plan.

    What Kari clearly doesn't talk to groups like Health Care for America Now! (I have no connection with them) that represent virtually the entire Democratic coalition on health care reform. They have made it clear they oppose Wyden's plan and the coalition does NOT view Ron Wyden as a genuine leader on health care reform. He has become an industry shill who is NOT well respected by the wide swath of very smart, very active players representing the people, rather than the industry, for health care reform in DC.

    While Kitz seems to some Oregonians like a very good pick, I don't think there is an objective appreciation here for how the Archimedes Movement is not seen as a strong move on his part by those looking in. And while he has undeniable charisma, it and his trademark story about the dying salmon doesn't play east of the Big Muddy the way it does on the loopy Left Coast. Nonetheless, he obviously is in the running.

    DR. Dean would be a sensible pick and Obama would get a good reaction for doing so. After Dean though, Obama is going to have to go deep to appoint someone who will be a surprise to a large percentage of people who fancy themselves to be political players: Health care reform we need hasn't exactly been a position that brings out the large campaign donors.

    (Pete Stark anybody? No chance of losing his seat to a Republican and he has sponsored a bill which has far more support and goodwill from Obama's natural constituency than Wyden ever could hope to buffalo into believing he is a true leader on health care reform.)

    A unique opportunity for actually fixing our health care system will be irresponsibly squandered if Wyden were put in charge and he persisted in trying to implement his plan. It might be a different story if he were appointed and signed onto Obama's vision.

  • Zarathustra (unverified)
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    Posted by: Chuck Butcher | Feb 4, 2009 10:13:27 PM

    I'll give you a real good buzz about Ron Wyden, he's one of the best Senators in the place and real vauluable doing that job, there are lots of politicians without important jobs that can do HHS that doesn't mean stripping another valuable asset out of the Senate.

    which is precisely why he's being considered for the job. Taking him out of the picture by hook and crook just pissed him off, so now we'll try to promote him to where he isn't coming up with his own ideas.

    Is it a conscious Dem strategy to remove as many from the Senate as possible? This admin has to be near some kind of record. It'll definitely be remembered the next time term limit debates come up, and we hear party operatives say that it's a bad idea because it forces you to lose all that valuable experience. We're supposed to put up with entrenched interests because the principle is so important, but it seems to matter not one jot to those on the personnel end of this administration.

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    JTF-- Would you please care to provide a source for your claim that the HCAN folks oppose Wyden's plan?

  • bradley (unverified)
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    JTF is very unlikely to get a statement like that out of HCAN, but he or she is right that HCAN wants a Medicare-style public option for all, and Wyden's bill doesn't go there to the best of my recollection. HCAN is wary of any bill without a public option, and as of now they would work to defeat Wyden's or any bill without it, but they view him as a pretty decent guy and mostly an ally. JTF, HCAN has very similar problems with the Obama health plan from the campaign. Obama's campaign health plan is no closer to single payer or public option than Wyden's.

    What JTF, like many passionate single-payer supporters, isn't acknowledging is that single payer will not happen because Obama doesn't support it, Kennedy won't bother pushing it, and neither house of Congress can come close to passing it. As for Wyden being a shill for insurance companies, I haven't seen insurance companies rushing to the defense of the Wyden bill, probably because Wyden would impose national regulation that would force them out of their traditional, inhumane business model. Insurance companies, like some single payer devotees, are very hostile to the Wyden bill.

    And given the current job climate and my own lack of job security, I would sleep a lot better if Wyden's bill passed because of its focus of portability. How many millions of suddenly laid of Americans could use that right now? COBRA is a cruel joke for most people.

    I hope Wyden stays in the Senate, but I understand why both Kitzhaber and Wyden would get serious consideration. It would be very hard to find someone who gets health care and the political process better than these two.

  • Bill R. (unverified)
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    Don't do it, Ron!! We just got rid of Gordon Smith and we don't want him back.

  • JTF (unverified)
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    Kari wrote:

    JTF-- Would you please care to provide a source for your claim that the HCAN folks oppose Wyden's plan?

    bradley wrote:

    JTF is very unlikely to get a statement like that out of HCAN, but he or she is right that HCAN wants a Medicare-style public option for all, and Wyden's bill doesn't go there to the best of my recollection.

    To be clear, what I said is:

    What Kari clearly doesn't talk to groups like Health Care for America Now! (I have no connection with them) that represent virtually the entire Democratic coalition on health care reform. They have made it clear they oppose Wyden's plan and the coalition does NOT view Ron Wyden as a genuine leader on health care reform.

    I'd suggest you just call them directly and ask for the record: 1) if they support Wyden's plan, and 2) if they consider him to be a leader whose leadership they are rallying behind in their current campaign to win support for Obama's plan, as some of us who are on top of the issue and the players have (repeatedly) done.

    Before that take a look at their website at:

    http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/content/statement_of_common_purpose/

    and note one of their core requirements in reform (with "must" language"):

    A choice of a private insurance plan, including keeping the insurance you have if you like it, or a public insurance plan without a private insurer middleman that guarantees affordable coverage.

    Wyden has explicitly refused to embrace a requirement for a public insurance plan in his plan. The dozen or so inquiries people I know have made were to specifically ask if this point means they don't support the Wyden plan and "bradley" is a fudging reality just a little bit when he minimizes their position to a little wary.

    Finally, if you go to their list of supporters:

    http://blog.healthcareforamericanow.org/congressional-support-for-health-care-for-america-now/

    You'll notice Wyden is conspicuously absent in the list of Oregon supporters. When you're talking to them, ask them if that is a mutual thing.

    And "bradley" don't demonstrate you are a fool by basing your argument on a characterization of someone - such as "a single-payer" supporter" - which you not only have no way of knowing is true, but which in fact isn't. The reason I know about HCAN is because I was looking for organizations whose reform plan includes support the statement of principle I quoted above to move the ball in this game. In other words, because they were going to be support what Obama said in his own plan.

    And given the current job climate and my own lack of job security, I would sleep a lot better if Wyden's bill passed because of its focus of portability.

    A Wyden supporter like you probably needs to talk more to a lot of the groups like HCAN who are in the thick of this. Too bad you're not likely to be able to afford what it's going to cost you to pay Wyden's tribute to the health insurance industry when you become unemployed in this particular time of economic decline (it would be different in a time of increasing tax revenues to better subsidize the cost of private insurance for you.) That is, unless you think borrowing money from everyone's kids to give solely to the private health insurance industry now is the smart and honorable, rather than the selfish, thing to do.

  • hcan question (unverified)
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    i'm sorry but didn't seiu (a major funder of hcan) just get caught undermining hcan with their talks to insurance companies?

    PS - would you people stop saying "single payer" and start saying "A single payer".

    every person has a different definition when they say "single payer"

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    Dear Senator Wyden:

    Please don't take the bait; we need you more in the senate.

    There is no need to have a greater ambition than being a U.S. senator because there is no greater ambition or greater opportunity to serve, including 1600 Penn Ave.

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    KGW.com links to Blue Oregon on the Wyden Buzz.

  • RuthAlice (unverified)
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    I remember Sen. Wyden's double-dealing on health care during the Clinton reform efforts when he circulated a Dear Colleague letter asking for support for a clause explicitly prohibiting state single-payer options while publicly swearing he supported single payer and that the Clinton plan would allow single payer options. IT was true that it would have, but he was trying to block that option. The Dear Colleague letter was leaked and was published in a few local activist newsletters.

  • RuthAlice (unverified)
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    More than once Sen. Wyden has said that single payer is the best option, but is not politically viable. I would argue that politicians like Wyden who make it not viable. His "Healthy Americans Act" could be called the Insurance Industry Preservation Act and does nothing, nothing at all to move us to a more rational system.

  • Adam in HD 34 (unverified)
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    Put Wyden in HHS so we can have Gov K appoint Steve Novick?! That'd be a real shot in the arm for Oregon.

  • Merilee Karr (unverified)
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    Wyden's a shoo-in for the Obama administration. Basketball.

    But seriously, here's a comment I posted to Paul Krugman's column on "Health Care Now" just last week:

    1. EDITORS' SELECTIONS January 30, 2009

    Universal health care, done right, saves money. Incremental reform -- patching and plugging -- is expensive and a lot like fixing a Fiat.

    Ron Wyden (D-OR) has a well-crafted plan that the Cong. Budget Office and a respected medical economics think tank say pays for itself in its first year, and saves money after that. Link: http://www.standtallforamerica.com/content/health_care_reform

    Wyden's plan is not based on Canada's system, but on Germany's. Turns out there are three basic families of universal health care system in the world: 1. Single payer, single provider. Govt pays the bill and employs the doctors. (e.g., Britain) 2. Single payer, multi provider. Govt pays the bill, private docs do the work. (e.g., Canada) 3. Multi payer, multi provider. Regional pools contract directly with providers or indirectly with insurance companies. (e.g., Germany)

    A good, accessible resource on how other countries do universal health care is the website of the Frontline special Sick Around the World, by journalist T.R. Reid.

    Here in North America, the system most healthcare reformers know about is Canada, but arguably the German system is better in the long run. It does require tight regulation to make insurance companies behave, so we'll see.

    — Merilee Karr, Portland, Oregon

  • AJ526 (unverified)
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    I think Wyden would make a good HHS secretary. He's one of the few who have actually come up with a plan, a pretty good one at that, to deal with health care. I'm wondering if it would be worth losing his seniority in the Senate though...

    If he is picked, it would be an exciting race to replace him, as nobody would have to give up their own seats to run in a special...

  • AJ526 (unverified)
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    I think Wyden would make a good HHS secretary. He's one of the few who have actually come up with a plan, a pretty good one at that, to deal with health care. I'm wondering if it would be worth losing his seniority in the Senate though...

    If he is picked, it would be an exciting race to replace him, as nobody would have to give up their own seats to run in a special...

  • Stephen Amy (unverified)
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    JTF is right-on, in that what we need is single-payer and that Wyden's plan is not advocated by HCAN!.

    What we really need is there to be a very large reduction in expenditure, either in the public or private sector, in order to be able to control the federal deficit. If massive private premiums are no longer a Damocles' sword over our necks, we will have to fund the insurance through the public sector- BUT IT WILL BE SO MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE. Thereby, a huge savings that can be taxed to provide deficit relief, or, if not utilized for that purpose, perhaps as real stimulus with there being much more disposable icome out there.

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    First, JTF wrote: They have made it clear they oppose Wyden's plan

    Then, when I asked for a source for that "made it clear" claim, JTF punts: I'd suggest you just call them directly and ask for the record: 1) if they support Wyden's plan

    So, in other words: No, they haven't "made it clear", since there's no public place that JTF can point to. I'm supposed to call them.

    And, I would note that there's a big difference between "not supporting" and "opposing" - a difference that JTF appears happy to gloss over.

    For the record, HCAN doesn't actually have a plan. They're not supporting ANY plan at this time.

    What they have is a statement of principles. It's true that Wyden's plan doesn't neatly fit inside their principles. It's also true that Obama's doesn't either. And it's also true that no actual legislation, proposed by anyone, fits inside their stated principles.

    And, finally, it's worth noting that all of these plans, and all of these statements of principle - including from Wyden and from HCAN - are opening bids. Everyone, including Wyden and HCAN and the President, will have to give a little in order to get to an actual piece of legislation that gets signed.

    There's a long road ahead on health care.

  • Stephen Amy (unverified)
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    I checked the link Kari Chisolm provided and he's right about the state of HCAN's advocacy. Thanks for the link.

    I do remember reading on Obama's website that he and Biden consider government-run health to be "an extremist solution". Therefore, according to them, all other industrialized countries have extremist systems, to one degree or another.

    The way to go is just offer Medicare to everyone. And then let's see how long private insurance will last. I'd sign up for Medicare tomorrow, and save the small non-profit I work for about $450 per month and am confident the cost to me for Medicare would be much less.

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