Obama, AMA at odds over health reform

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By Jennifer Haberkorn

President Obama is scheduled to meet Monday with the country's largest physicians organization, one of the most prominent in a growing group of opponents to his health care reform plans.

The American Medical Association (AMA) said last week that it opposes a proposal gaining momentum among congressional Democrats and Mr. Obama to create a public health insurance plan as part of a massive effort to reform the health care industry.

Meanwhile, a top Senate Republican is urging Mr. Obama to support taxing employer health benefits to pay for reform, an idea that has attracted some bipartisan support in the Senate, but which Mr. Obama pounded Republican Sen. John McCain for proposing during the presidential race.

"It looks like he's looking at doing similar to what McCain wanted to do, and I think for the benefit of making this bipartisan, presidential leadership in this area would be very good based upon the tune of the last campaign," said Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican and ranking member of the Finance Committee, which is expected to submit a bill this week that would tax the most expensive benefits.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, acting chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said during a joint appearance with Mr. Grassley on "Fox News Sunday" that he's against taxing the benefits.

"I mean, the idea that you're going to have people out there that are struggling to make ends meet today, they're falling further and further behind with wages, people losing jobs, losing homes - to turn around and say, 'You basically have no change in your health care plan, and by the way, we're going to tax you now for those benefits' - we can actually pay for this" with proposals Mr. Obama has made, he said.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," said the administration doesn't want to tax benefits either, but declined to issue a veto threat over the proposal.

The trip to AMA's annual meeting in Chicago is Mr. Obama's second outside Washington to stir support for health care reform. He went to Green Bay, Wis., last week for a town hall meeting.

Mr. Obama is expected to walk through the case for health care reform, including how medicine is delivered and how efficiency could be improved, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters.

Since the public insurance plan has gained supporters in Congress, upon Mr. Obama's urging, outside groups have relaxed their initial reluctance to speak out against reform proposals to risk looking like spoilsports.