Chat transcript

alternative plan

during the POTUS state of the union, he said that if someone had a better idea for HCR than what was being proposed, then they should let him know. Has anyone come forward with a different possible plan? If so, what are the changes/differences?

Ezra Klein writes:

I'm not particularly taken with that bit of president rhetoric. There are better ideas than the Senate bill out there. Wyden-Bennett is one. Pete Stark's Medicare-for-most is another. Both would cover more people at a lower cost, but neither has the support to pass. So far as I know, there's no better idea with even near the required number of votes.

superheroes

Is it true that you're working on a short story featuring superheroes?

Ezra Klein writes:

Sadly, no. I'd like to know where that rumor started, though.

GOP Healthcare Solution

After watching the "highlights" from yesterday ... I still don't know what the GOP's solution for healthcare is? Although I did see 3 attack ads during CNN's 8pm show last night ... good to see the insurance companies still have money left to spend.

Ezra Klein writes:

The GOP argued that this isn't the time for solutions to the health-care problem. As Lamar Alexander said in the morning, "We don't do comprehensive well." The divide right now is between Democrats who think we need something close to a solution and Republicans who would content themselves with much, much smaller interventions.

This is not a contest of solutions so much as a disagreement over whether Congress should solve problems.

Is reconciliation being 'seriously' considered?

Hello Ezra. Could I get your opinion/read on a report from the LA Times today (2/24) that budget reconciliation is being seriously considered for the Senate bill (Democrats on track to revive healthcare overhaul)? Is this just random chatter or did the summit somehow motivate party leadership?

Ezra Klein writes:

To be fair, reconciliation was on the table before the summit, too. But there's more momentum now.

fixing senate bill

One of the democrat's strategy being bandied about is to pass the senate bill in the house and then "fix it" through reconciliation. Can you explain what the "fixes" might be, how such fixes could be assured ex ante, and how such fixes would mechanically move through the legislative process?

Ezra Klein writes:

Sure. The fixes are the elements included in the president's 11-page summary of additions to the Senate bill. The House may add to or tweak that list a bit, but that's essentially what's left to do on the bill. The method would be the reconciliation process.

Premiums

The GOP has stated that the HCR bill will raise insurance premiums. The Democrats have stated that it will not raise premiums. Can you shed some light on this? What provisions have been written in to this bill that will not only tell my insurance provider that they cannot raise premiums, but will also tell my employer that they cannot cut their subsidies? Or is the government not considering the millions of Americans who have employer-based health programs?

Ezra Klein writes:

What the GOP is talking about is a particular CBO report, which I explain here. The short summary is that the price for a given insurance policy on the individual market will drop sharply. The price on the employer-based market will drop modestly. And because people on the individual market will now have subsidies and regulations helping them purchase better insurance, they will choose more comprehensive policies than they have now. What the GOP is doing is confusing whether something gets cheaper with whether someone can afford something better.

As for your specific queries, there are policies to review rate increases (and they can get kicked out of the exchanges if their increases are too high) and to penalize employers who drop insurance coverage. But there's nothing barring either group from doing so, as the bill tries not to interfere in the market too aggressively.

Tom Coburn's undercover agents
Yesterday at the Health Care Summit, Republican Senator Tom Coburn suggested that we use undercover agents to weed out fraud in the health care system. If there was such a proposal to hire thousands of new undercover federal employees to spread out across the country to search for fraud and waste, do you think Tom Coburn would be the first or second Republican to grandstand about the "massive Federal Overreach", or about "bloated bureaucracy", or the creeping fasci-socialism of the jack-booted federal thugs?

Ezra Klein writes:

It's a good question.

Life After COBRA

My COBRA expires this weekend, and I've already been turned down for health insurance. I feel absolutely hopeless in this fight. Health care benefits need to be uncoupled from employment and the inability to pay benefits should be the only reason an insurer can deny coverage. I believe the Democrats are at least trying to help people like me. I think the Republicans don't give a damn. If there are fewer underclass folks out there, then there is more money for them. Their version of extermination is slow, but it's their ultimate goal. What a soulless bunch of bastards.

Ezra Klein writes:

One of the most depressing stories right now is that Jim Bunning is using unanimous consent rules to block the extension of your COBRA benefits. It's not that 60 senators don't think this is a good idea, but that one thinks it's so bad he's willing to do enormous harm if his demands aren't met.

HCR

Hi Ezra: Do you recall back a couple of months ago when the Medicare buy-In was part of the Senate bill? I was curious if that was ever scored by the CBO... I recall being excited about that short-lived development but don't recall hearing about a CBO score. A great weekend to you.

Ezra Klein writes:

A CBO score was being developed when Lieberman said that the policy would lead him to filibuster health-care reform (despite the fact that he'd previously supported it). The policy and the effort to score it were dropped, which was a shame.

Tax Reform

Ezra, can you talk at all about the Wyden-Gregg tax reform legislation and its prospects in this Congress?

Ezra Klein writes:

Good policy, poor prospects.

Reconciliation
Now that Democrats seem fully prepared to use reconciliation to try to pass health care reform, do you think it was a mistake not to go this route months ago, back when the biggest obstacle was Joe Lieberman? It seems like they could have avoided a lot of the concessions and deal-making that frustrated the public and dispirited their base.

Ezra Klein writes:

Remember that Democrats are just talking about using reconciliation for fixes to the bill. Doing the whole bill through reconciliation would have been much harder, and would have meant you lose things like the insurance market regulations.

Jobs Bill

Ezra, I asked this question twice last week, but the snark seemed more interesting to your moderators than serious questions. Please consider answering this question. You wrote a great post explaining why last year's stimulus bill should not have been confused with a jobs bill, since stimulus to grow the economy is not the same as stimulus specifically tailored to create more jobs. My question is, what should a good jobs bill look like?

Ezra Klein writes:

Like the stimulus bill, I think. Thinking of this solely in terms of jobs is the wrong way to think about it. A lot of people need a lot of help. You could create a lot of jobs by directly employing people in public works programs, or by spending tons on tax incentives for jobs creation, but I think you're better off doing the jobs pieces that make sense, and then the stimulus pieces that make sense, and generally trying to coax the economy back to life.

Orange Congressmen and Health Care Knowledge

Isn't it crazy that the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives believes that medical malpractice costs are the largest driver of health care costs. Do you think the media does an adequate job of explaining that the Republicans have zero interest in understanding the reform that they are trying to block?

Ezra Klein writes:

No.

Food

You've commented from time to time about DC restaurants - any suggestions for Baltimore?

Ezra Klein writes:

Can't say I've done much eating there. Went to the much-hyped wood...something grill, but wasn't very impressed.

Coverage or No?

Ezra, I noticed during the summit that the Republicans would not answer directly whether they want/have a plan to eventually cover all or most of the uninsured. Obama pressed them on it more than once. What's going on there? Thanks.

Ezra Klein writes:

They don't and won't. Lamar Alexander said that clearly in the introductory remarks.

Cost of HCR Bills

When the Democrats asked the CBO to score the 10-year cost of their bills, they asked that a full decade's worth of revenue be tallied against only about 5 years of full benefits. Don't you feel this is a dishonest accounting of the on-going cost of the bills?

Ezra Klein writes:

It's sneaky in that it makes the 10-year cost lower. But it doesn't mean the bill is less fiscally responsible. The opposite, actually. The revenues and savings grow faster than the spending. According to CBO, the legislation cuts the deficit by $130 billion in the first 10 years, and $650 billion in the second. So if anything, the strategy understates deficit reduction.

Has Jon Stewart Ever Had You on for an Interview?

Because he should. Regularly. Also, is it true that you're good friends with Jonathan Hodgman?

Ezra Klein writes:

Nope and nope. But I'd like to be!

Accounting

I've seen a couple of conservative blogs trumpeting Paul Ryan's point that the Dems' plan double-counts the savings from Medicare. Is that a legitimate criticism? If not, why not?

Ezra Klein writes:

I have to go back and read through Ryan's remarks to see what he was talking about. I'll do that later today.

Televised negotiations

I feel as if the summit vindicated those of us who thought televised negotiations (or discussions, as this was) would be beneficial. On the whole, it brought Republican policy arguments even more clearly into the light of day, and for posterity. And, an important sign was that millions streamed it on Youtube, which is good since you thought the only people who would watch were media types. Do you think that this event turned out better than you expected? And shouldn't it have happened in early 2009 to frame the issues more clearly and get things started on a more bipartisan foot?

Ezra Klein writes:

It actually went worse than I expected, with less agreement and more posturing. I'm all for these things as interesting TV (not to mention events that increase traffic to my blog), but my sense was that this just clarified why the two parties won't agree. I frankly found it depressing.

Blog comments

Not to be negative, but it seems as if you hardly ever interact with your commenters on the blog, when many ask you questions or make good points in response to your posts. Didn't you use to do that more often? As a regular commenter, I would definitely look forward to more interaction!

Ezra Klein writes:

Two factors: First, there are a lot more comments. Second, I write a lot more content, and do a lot more reporting to inform it. So it's largely a time issue. I sort of want to tell people that if they have something particularly insightful to say or particularly important to ask that they should e-mail me, but I'm worried that will just flood me with more ALL CAPS mail than I currently get. I wish I had a system where commenters could recommend certain comments for me to take a look at.

Newsweek and Outlook

Now that you write for Newsweek, in addition to your Outlook pieces, can you describe the process you go through as a writer? What do you do to brainstorm ideas for interesting topics that go beyond the shorter blog posts? And when you finally sit to write, what's that like and what advice do you have for those of us who aspire to write about policy and politics?

Ezra Klein writes:

It all works together, I like to think. A lot of the columns come out of blog posts. I'll try an idea out on the blog (writing helps my thinking), and if I think there's something to it, I'll start reporting on it and it'll end as a column, or even a feature.

Superheroes

I'll bet Victor Von Doom could've gotten HCR passed.

Ezra Klein writes:

Nah, the Tea Parties would have had too easy a time with it. You really needed Mystique posing as John McCain or something.