White House takes on liberals over disputes on Senate health reform bill

The White House took on arguments against healthcare reform emerging from its own base on Wednesday.

In a post to the official White House blog, Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer took on liberals' assertions that the Senate healthcare bill doesn't do enough on healthcare reform and should be killed.

"Recently, a somewhat perplexing new line of argument has emerged about health insurance reform, with some folks suggesting the Senate bill is a 'dream' for insurance companies," Pfeiffer wrote, referencing former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean's call for senators to ditch their bill after they dropped the Medicare buy-in from the legislation.

Pfeiffer pointed to the consistent lobbying by insurers against congressional healthcare bills, citing it as evidence of what the reform effort would do to curtail the insurance industry.

The blog is an unusual tack for Pfeiffer and the White House, though. In recent days, Pfeiffer and other senior Obama administration officials have used the White House blog as a platform to go after insurance companies and Republicans, not fellow Democrats.

President Barack Obama has faced some backlash from more liberal congressional Democrats since backing the Senate's bill, which includes neither the buy-in nor the public option.

Pfeiffer defended the Senate's bill as a "hugely successful" bid at expanding healthcare and making it more affordable, writing:

It’s also important to remember that, while none of us are shedding any tears for the insurance industry, the primary goal of health insurance reform isn’t to punish insurers – it’s to give every American the ability to find affordable coverage while controlling the unsustainable cost growth in our current health care system that is crushing families and businesses.  On that front, this bill is hugely successful.  This bill will bring stability and security to people who have insurance and provide affordable options to those who don’t.  It will protect against arbitrary insurance company rules and  will lower premiums for American families and businesses. And it will take a big chunk out of the national deficit.

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