Healthcare Panel's Top Spot Gets a New Democrat

Published on:
16 January 2013 at 05:36 a.m. ET

Written by: Mike Bevel –

http://www.insidearm.com/news/00001114-healthcare-panels-top-spot-gets-a-new-dem/

Congratulations, Jim McDermott! You’ve now filled the key spot on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health.

That the spot is filled by a Democrat is not terribly surprising. Before McDermott, the chair of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health had been California’s Pete Stark. Stark failed in his reelection bid, opening the door for McDermott.

“McDermott, who is a doctor, was a strong supporter of President Obama’s healthcare law. He supports a single-payer healthcare system and has introduced a bill to let states pursue single-payer on their own, in the absence of a more sweeping federal overhaul.”

Expect fireworks — and not the Katy Perry kind — between McDermott and Republicans over the issue of Medicare: McDermott has been vocal in his disapproval of Republican plans to privatize it.