Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Gruber, In Hill Testimony, Apologizes And Plays Down His Role In Crafting Health Law
The Washington Post: Jonathan Gruber: ‘I Am Embarrassed, And I Am Sorry’
“I'm a professor of economics at MIT. I'm not a politician nor a political advisor," Gruber said, stressing that his role with the administration was purely technical. "I did not draft Governor Romney’s health care plan, and I was not the ‘architect’ of President Obama’s health care plan.” The hearing featured several terse exchanges, which highlighted the lighting rod Gruber has become and the sharp partisan divisions surrounding the ACA. (DelReal, 12/9)
The Wall Street Journal: Gruber Apologizes Before House Committee
Mr. Gruber testified with Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Republicans had criticized both for statements they say show a pattern of deception by the Obama administration in passing and implementing the 2010 law. Both Republicans and Democrats sharply criticized Mr. Gruber for his comments. The remarks reveal “a pattern of intentional misleading” of the public about the Affordable Care Act, said Rep. Darrel Issa (R., Calif.), chairman of the committee. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the panel, said Mr. Gruber’s statements “gave Republicans a public-relations gift in their relentless political campaign to tear down the ACA and eliminate health care for millions of Americans.” (Armour, 12/9)
The New York Times: Jonathan Gruber Of M.I.T. Regrets ‘Arrogance’ On Health Law
Jonathan Gruber, the health economist whose incendiary comments about “the stupidity of the American voter” have embarrassed the Obama administration, apologized on Tuesday for what he described as his “glib, thoughtless and sometimes downright insulting comments.” “I am not a political adviser nor a politician,” said Dr. Gruber, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was a paid consultant to the Obama administration in 2009 to 2010. (Pear, 12/9)
Los Angeles Times: Obamacare Advisor Apologizes To Lawmakers For Controversial Comments
Jonathan Gruber, an MIT professor who worked on the Affordable Care Act, apologized to members of Congress on Tuesday for a series of controversial comments he made about the law, which Republicans have seized on to attack the healthcare legislation. “I behaved badly, and I will have to live with that,” Gruber told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. “But my own inexcusable arrogance is not a flaw in the Affordable Care Act. The ACA is a milestone accomplishment for our nation that already has provided millions of Americans with health insurance.” (Levey, 12/9)
The Associated Press: Obama Health Adviser Apologizes For ‘Glib’ Remarks
Gruber told groups in 2012 and 2013 that voter stupidity and a “lack of transparency” were important to passing the hard-fought legislation. Appearing before the House Oversight committee Tuesday, Gruber expanded on earlier apologies, repeatedly saying “I was conjecturing in areas beyond my expertise.” Enduring one fierce lecture after another, Gruber said his earlier comments were uninformed, “glib, thoughtless and sometimes downright insulting.” He said he was showing off before various groups, and “trying to be something, I’m not, which was a political expert.” (Babington, 12/9)
Politico: Gruber Survives
Still, Tuesday’s House hearing never forced Gruber to admit what Republicans wanted to prove: that he was speaking from inside knowledge of the writing of the Affordable Care Act, and therefore had confirmed that Obamacare was a fraud all along. And as much as the Republicans grilled him, Gruber never budged from his story, whether they wanted to believe it or not: He ran numbers for Obamacare, didn’t really know the political strategies he talked about so freely, and did not, in fact, confirm the premise of a lawsuit over subsidies that could give the Supreme Court a new opportunity to unravel the health care law next year. (Nather, 12/9)
The Washington Post's Wonkblog: Why We Haven’t Seen The Last Of Jonathan Gruber
MIT economist Jonathan Gruber apologized before a congressional committee Tuesday for calling American voters stupid and a number of comments saying that the administration deceived the American public to pass Obamacare almost five years ago. Gruber's much-anticipated testimony tried to serve two main goals — apologize for the comments that opened up Obamacare to new scrutiny and do his best to distance himself from the drafting of the health-care law. (MIllman, 12/9)
Politico: Jonathan Gruber: I'm Not 'The Architect' Of Obamacare
Gruber also drew the ire of committee Republicans for not disclosing all his income from state and federal consulting contracts, and Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa threatened to subpoena information on how much Gruber was paid for all of his Affordable Care Act work. Gruber, who has been a sought-after speaker in recent years, advised Washington and a number of states. Gruber would only confirm he received close to $400,000 under a contract with HHS and referred the committee to his attorney to determine what other payments may be released. (Norman, 12/9)
The Fiscal Times: Gruber Won’t Say How Much He Made as Obamacare Architect
Jonathan Gruber, the embattled former White House consultant and key architect of Obamacare, spent the morning engaged in an awkward battle with lawmakers during a House Oversight Committee hearing about his role in the president’s health care law. (Ehley, 12/9)
The committee also questioned an administration official about a misstep in calculating enrollment numbers -
USA Today: Gruber Sorry For 'Insulting' Comments On Obamacare
The committee also questioned Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, for giving misleading enrollment numbers in previous testimony in September. Tavenner testified that 7.3 million people had signed up for health insurance on state and federal exchanges, but she acknowledged that the number included dental plans — therefore double-counting almost 400,000 subscribers. (Korte, 12/9)
The Hill: Health Officials Turn Over 19K Obamacare Documents
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has turned over 19,000 pages of ObamaCare enrollment data to a House committee controlled by Republicans. The administration provided the papers just before a high-profile hearing on the healthcare law. An agency official confirmed the documents have been given to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The panel had requested more details about how HHS has counted its healthcare sign-ups after a GOP-led investigation found that the agency had been misreporting its enrollment total. (Ferris, 12/9)
