HEALTH POLITICS: The Strange Bedfellows Make Themselves Heard

That strange bedfellow Divided We Fail coalition you've heard us talk about before about is putting its money where its mouth is in the name of health reform. The Business Roundtable, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the AARP and the SEIU have sent President-elect Barack Obama an open letter urging him to enact comprehensive health reform. And they are backing it up with a nearly $1 million TV and newspaper ad campaign.

"What we are doing is reminding not just the president but the Congress as well that . . . this remains one of the most important issues facing the country," Business Roundtable President John Castellani was quoted as saying in the Los Angeles Times. The coalition sees health reform as an essential aspect of economic recovery and job creation.

"Addressing skyrocketing healthcare costs is a critical component of stabilizing household, national and global economies," the letter from the business-labor-senior citizen group said. "Inaction undermines the economic security of our families; limits the productivity of our workforce; stagnates job creation and wage growth; and threatens to crowd out investments in energy, education and infrastructure."

The Business Roundtable, by the way, hasn't released its own detailed health reform proposal but it is worth noting that it backs an individual mandate, subsidies and robust federal programs for low-income people, and a more regulated insurance market.