Blue Dog Coalition Standing Up to Health Care Reform

They say that everything you need to know you learned in kindergarten, critical-thinking skills and common sense among them. If you have school-age children, you’ve probably heard of the kid’s television show “Blues Clues” which feature a blue dog, among other characters, who help to teach young children about their world. When Blues Clues debuted in 1996, its mission was to "empower preschoolers to learn through active participation in activities that are grounded in their everyday lives, to redefine the approach to problem-solving for preschoolers in an engaging manner.” The show lasted for more than a decade and won many awards, even being called “one of the most successful, critically acclaimed, and ground-breaking preschool television series of all time." It’s funny how we oftentimes use animals in presenting human ideas. This is certainly true in the make-believe land of children’s television, but it also applies to our political arena as well. This week we look at one of the players in the whole health care reform saga with a similar name and talent; namely the “Blue Dog” Coalition.

Most people know that there is a Democratic majority in Congress, which means that any policy change endorsed by the Democratic Party has a good chance of being passed into law. We often hear about Republicans and Democrats being polar opposites; Republicans typically are conservative and pro-business, while Democrats tend to be liberal and pro common man. We find animals here as well. Republicans are represented by an elephant, while the Democrats are represented by a donkey. They even have their own “colors” …Republican red, Democrats blue. However, in politics, as in life, nothing is ever absolute. There are always variances among the groups; we often hear of liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. Just as there are many different shades of blue and red, so too are there differences amongst the Republican and Democratic parties. The “Blue Dog” coalition is made up entirely of Democrats, but push a “conservative” agenda, especially when it comes to money.

Currently there are 52 members in the House of Representatives that are part of the Blue Dog Coalition, which makes them a force to be reckoned with when it comes to implementing President Obama’s wishes. The current estimates of President Obama’s health care reform plan exceeds $1 trillion. Being fiscally conservative, the Blue Dog Coalition is questioning the Tri-Committee reform bill that was sent off to President Obama recently. (The Tri-Committee is made up of three committees—see “Path to Reform.")  Due to the cost of the bill, the Blue Dogs sent a letter off to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. In it they decried the high cost of the Tri-Committee’s bill, calling for improvements to be made. Specifically, they asked that savings be realized by greater efficiencies in our current system before asking Americans to pay more money. They further stated that employers that don’t provide coverage for employees do so out of cost concerns—not because they don’t want to. This is critical, because the Tri-committee draft requires employers to offer coverage or face huge fines. In essence, they are saying that forcing employers to pay for coverage without reigning in those costs is counter-productive and should be examined thoroughly.

In my column, “A Healthcare Primer, Part I”, I touched upon another area of the Blue Dogs disagreement with the Tri-Committee draft—the “public plan” option. Because the Blue Dogs are concerned with money, they saw right away that if a public plan doesn’t abide by the same rules as the private insurance market, it therefore has an unfair advantage over private market insurance companies, which would then drive the private market out of business. During my latest trip to Washington, D.C., I spoke at length with Senator Reid’s Finance Director and made exactly this point. The Blue Dogs are calling for more reforms in this area if we are to offer a public plan option.

Lastly, the Blue Dog Coalition is publicly stating what many in Washington and the country are saying. We need to slow down. Health reform is critical, but so is doing it right. I spoke with one Congressman in Washington on the day that the Tri-Committee bill came out (all 1,018 pages of it). “In order to get through this draft before voting on it,” he lamented, “we need to read 40 pages an hour; that doesn’t even give us time to properly critique it!” I’m not a policymaker, but I’m fairly sure this is not how our government is supposed to operate.

It’s good to know the players in this reform effort. It’s encouraging knowing that there are still members of Congress willing to properly investigate and offer to educate the other members of Congress with a redefined approach to problem-solving. Kind of like Blues Clues.

Until next time, stay healthy!