Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) narrowed a request by a Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to seek more details on private negotiations that took place between the White House and industry groups on healthcare reform—but nevertheless said he would work to obtain more information on these meetings.

Waxman, who chairs the panel, and others on the committee heard testimony from Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), who for some time has been seeking specific details from the White House on deals it made with these industry groups to reduce the healthcare cost curve by $2 trillion. Participating groups included the Advanced Medical Technology Association, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, America's Health Insurance Plans, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Service Employees International Union, he said.

“Call them gentlemen's agreements, backroom negotiations, or power politics—we know they happened. What we don't know is what they agreed to,” said Burgess, a member of the panel.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the panel's ranking member, supported Burgess' inquiry, claiming it would “crack the door” on backdoor health reform deals.

Waxman said he would help Burgess to obtain some of the information he was looking for, such as a list of all of the agreements that were entered into writing, including the “sum and substance” of all deals and agreements, and the names of the groups that attended these meetings at the White House.

Some of what Burgess is looking for, however, “encompasses any document, e-mail or records of internal discussions that relate to written or verbal agreements on healthcare,” a request Waxman called “overbroad.”

Burgess explained how he'd asked for this information several times from the White House last year, and finally got a lengthy response from White House counsel on Jan. 26. However, it did not contain the information he was asking for, just already-public information on visitor logs, and text of speeches and news statements.

“There is nothing inherently wrong with the president engaging on such an important topic or encouraging groups to act in the best interest of the public,” he testified. “But we don't know if the deals struck were in the best interest of the public,” Burgess stated.

As these six groups were meeting at the White House last spring, “this very committee was marking up HR 3200,” the House's comprehensive health reform bill, Burgess stated. How could this negotiation process “be viewed with any integrity if the real deals were being cut at the White House?” he said.


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