Pundit's Take on Health Care Costs a Must-Read in White House

WASHINGTON (Nov. 25) -- Think you have no life?

Consider what serious Washington policy types will be reading this Thanksgiving weekend. No, not Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol."

As the Senate gears up for next week's debate on health care reform, West Wingers, Hill staff and policy analysts of all stripes will be digesting journalist Ron Brownstein's 2,600-word blog post, "A Milestone in the Health Care Journey." The piece is a shout-out to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his finance guru, Sen. Max Baucus, for shaping a bill that Brownstein agrees would control long-term health care costs.

President Barack Obama apparently liked Brownstein's analysis so much that Politico's Mike Allen reported the wonky chief executive declared the article "mandatory reading for all senior staff and that everyone involved in, or covering, the health care debate should see the piece."

And during a conference call with reporters Friday, Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget, singled out Brownstein -- along with New York Times columnist David Leonhardt -- for actually reading the 2,074-page bill in all its minutiae.

"When he called me, he said, 'I have the bill in front of me,' " Orszag said of The Atlantic columnist.

Brownstein is a veteran political writer who appears often on cable and network TV to channel his inner policy wonk for a general audience. A longtime must-read inside the Beltway, he left the Los Angeles Times in 2007 after editors banned him from writing about the presidential race. They worried about the appearance of a conflict because of his marriage to Eileen McMenamin, then chief spokeswoman for Republican candidate John McCain.

In what might be considered a bit of pundit envy, Slate's Mickey Kaus labeled Brownstein's take on the Senate bill as "non-naive-but-still-cheerleaderish party-line Orszagist praise."

Over at Firedoglake.com, Jon Walker contends Brownstein "just doesn't understand health care systems."

For those wondering what Brownstein so loves about the Senate bill -- but have other things to do this weekend -- there is an alternative to reading the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Or even Brownstein's blog.

The essence, Orszag said, is contained in a letter sent to Obama last week. In it nearly two dozen eminent economists urge lawmakers to control health care costs by adhering to what Orszag called the "four pillars of a fiscally responsible bill":

• Don't increase the federal deficit.
• Tax high-cost "Cadillac" insurance plans.
• Set up an independent Medicare commission to improve care and rein in spiraling spending for seniors and the disabled.
• Change the way health care is delivered to focus on quality, not quantity.

Everything the economists recommend is in the proposed Senate legislation, Orszag said.

"And then some," chimed in Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform.

Of course, if you don't believe them, you can always read the bill yourself.