The coming battle over health care reform

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From Feb. 13th in the Washington Independent:

Mitt Romney arrived at the House Republicans’ late-January retreat to a room that hardly needed a pep talk. Their vote against the Democrats’ Economic Recovery Act had revved them up; all Romney needed to tell them was that they “stood strong,” and that their fellow Republicans stood proud. Romney, who’d testified at the sole House Republican hearing on the stimulus, urged them to take one step further.

“We remain the confident voice of limited government and free enterprise,” said Romney. “These principles are going to face another test when it comes to health care. We should be first to propose a Republican plan to bring health insurance to all Americans, one based on market dynamics, free choice, and personal responsibility. Whatever direction we take, let’s not simply react to what the Democrats do.”

The House Republicans took Romney’s advice. Six days after his speech the party announced the formation of the House GOP Health Care Task Force, an ad hoc group of 16 members that would, in the words of Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) craft “real solutions to improve our health care system by putting patients before paperwork and frivolous lawsuits.”

As the stimulus debate winds to a close, it would appear that House Republicans are picking up their playbook and taking what they need for the coming battle over health care reform.

And in today's New York Times:

Health Care Industry in Talks to Shape Policy

Since last fall, many of the leading figures in the nation’s long-running health care debate have been meeting secretly in a Senate hearing room.

Employers and insurers tend to agree with Republicans more often than Democrats on health policy, and business lobbyists have implored Republicans to participate in the talks.