Obama's Welfare For the Health Care Industry

A new CBS poll shows President Barack Obama has a better approval rating on Afghanistan and the economy than for health care.

Obama Approval Poll Numbers

Overall - 50 percent
Afghanistan - 48 percent
Economy - 47 percent
Health care 42 percent

59 percent of Americans favor the public option. 29 percent of Americans oppose. Politically, it made no sense for Obama to oppose the public option. It makes more sense when one understands the White House refused to release the names of health care industry officials that had meetings at the White House. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to force the White House to release the list of names.

• February 4 (meeting with Tina Tchen)
• February 23 (meeting with president)
• March 5 (meeting with president)
• March 25 (meeting with Jennifer Cannistra)
• March 30 (meeting with Ezekiel Emanuel)
• April 6 (meeting with Tina Tchen)
• May 22 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

J. James Rohack (President-elect, American Medical Ass'n.):

• March 25 (meeting with Ezekiel Emanuel)
• June 22 (meeting with president)
• June 24 (meetings with Clare Gallagher and president)

William Weldon (Chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson):

• May 12 (meeting with president)

Jeffrey B. Kindler (Chairman and CEO, Pfizer Inc.):

• March 5 (meeting with president)
• May 6 (meetings with Sarah Fenn and Elizabeth Bafford)
• June 2 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

Stephen J. Hemsley (President, CEO, Director, UnitedHealth Group, Inc.):

• May 15 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)
• May 22 (meeting with Peter Orszag)
• July 14 (meeting with Aneesh Chopra)

Angela Braly (President, CEO, Director, WellPoint, Inc.):

• February 13 (meeting with president)

George Halvorson (Chairman and CEO, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan):

• March 27 (meeting with Keith Fontenot)
• June 5 (meeting with Peter Orszag)
• July 23 (meeting with Kathleen Sibelius)
• July 24 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

Jay Gellert (President and CEO, Health Net, Inc.):

• February 10 (meeting with Tina Tchen)
• March 11 (meeting with Jennifer Cannistra)
• March 20 (meeting with Matt Flavin)
• July 24 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

Thomas Priselac (President and CEO, Cedars-Sinai Health System):

• April 3 (meeting with Ezekiel Emanuel)

Richard Clark (Chairman, President and CEO, Merck):

• March 24 (meeting with Ezekiel Emanuel)


Wayne T. Smith (Chairman, President and CEO, Community Health Systems):

• June 4 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

Rick Smith (Sr. Vice President, Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America):

• May 19 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)
• June 2 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)
• July 7 (meeting with Jim Messina)
• July 24 (meeting with Sarah Fenn)

Obama does not support a public option. The President does support very American being required to buy private health insurance. This will give the health insurance industry new custumers. The White House made an agreement with the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association to not allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug rates. Contrary to what the tea baggers believe, the only welfare Obama supports his for corporations.

Politico's Ben Smith received a letter from a heath care industry official. The health care industry is doing a victory lap.

"We WIN," the insider writes. "Administered by private insurance companies. No government funding. No government insurance competitor.”