Meanwhile, Brian Beutler Is Unhappy with Robert Pear (Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps? New York Times Edition)

Brian writes, about Robert Pear's article on SCHIP:

Brian Beutler: Policy reporting, a how to guide:

Step 1: Have a high tolerance for boredom.

Step 2: Obtain remedial knowledge of specific policy landscape.

Step 3: Know how to write a paragraph like this one:

House Democrats hope to portray the [SCHIP] issue as a fight pitting the interests of children and older Americans against tobacco and insurance companies. The White House says the Democratic proposals would distort the original intent of the children’s program, cause a big increase in federal spending and adversely affect older Americans who are happy with the extra benefits they receive from private health plans.

What mustn't be written explicitly (both in this case and more generally) is that the weight of all evidence and argument suggests strongly that the Democrats portray the issue basically correctly while Republicans are completely full of s---.

Comments

[anne]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/washington/23health.html

July 23, 2007

Democrats Press House to Expand Health Care Bill
By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON — After a rare bipartisan agreement in the Senate to expand insurance coverage for low-income children, House Democrats have drafted an even broader plan that also calls for major changes in Medicare and promises to intensify the battle with the White House over health care.

President Bush has threatened to veto what he sees as a huge expansion of the children's health care program, which he describes as a step "down the path to government-run health care for every American." The House measure calls for changes that the administration will probably find even more distasteful, including cuts in Medicare payments to private health plans.

Like the bill approved last week 17 to 4 in the Senate Finance Committee, the House bill would increase tobacco taxes to help finance expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program.

House Democrats hope to portray the issue as a fight pitting the interests of children and older Americans against tobacco and insurance companies. The White House says the Democratic proposals would distort the original intent of the children's program, cause a big increase in federal spending and adversely affect older Americans who are happy with the extra benefits they receive from private health plans.

By packaging Medicare with the children's health program, Democrats say, they have built a strong intergenerational coalition that could help them overcome a presidential veto. The House bill has already drawn support from two powerful groups, AARP and the American Medical Association, in part because it would prevent cuts in Medicare payments to doctors. But the House bill is likely to meet fierce resistance from some Republicans because it is more costly than the Senate bill and could undermine private Medicare health plans, which have been championed by Republicans for a decade.

The proposal comes as health care has risen to the top of the domestic agenda. Presidential candidates from both parties are searching for ways to overhaul the health care system, control costs and address the needs of the uninsured.

Lawmakers say they see an urgent need for action. The Children's Health Insurance Program is set to expire on Sept. 30, and Medicare payments to doctors will be cut by 10 percent on Jan. 1 if Congress does not act....

[anne]

I find no reporting problem, and think Robert Pear an excellent specialist on health care policy.

[Larry Y]

The New York Times continues to pay Michael Gordon to lead America into war with Iran. I fail to see why you expect more from it than you do from, say, the New York Post.