2009 White House Forum on Health Reform

On 5 March 2009, President Barack Obama opened the 2009 White House Forum on Health Reform.

Breakout groups

attendees will divide into five breakout groups to discuss ideas on how to bring down health care costs and increase coverage. Below is a list of participants in each breakout group as well as all attendees. Each session will have writer pools present; all five will be webcast on whitehouse.gov and one session will be carried by C-SPAN, which has opted to share footage with other television media outlets

Breakout Group 1

Moderators: Melody Barnes and Bob Kocher

• Senators
  • Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
  • Mike Enzi (R-WY)
  • Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
  • Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
• Representatives
  • Rob Andrews (D-NJ)
  • Baron Hill (D-IN)
  • Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
  • Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
  • Allyson Schwartz (D-PA)
  • Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
  • John Conyers (D-MI)
• Labor
  • Service Employees International Union, Dennis Rivera
• Business
  • Business Roundtable, Ken Powell (CEO of General Mills)
• Health professionals
  • American Hospital Association, Rich Umbdenstock
  • American Cancer Society, Daniel Smith
  • American Nurses Association, Rebecca Patton
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Scott Serota
• Citizen groups
  • Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Health Task Force, Peter Thomas
  • Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards
  • National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Janet Murguia

Breakout Group 2

Moderators: Valerie Jarrett and Zeke Emanuel

• Senators
  • Chris Dodd (D-CT)
  • Robert Bennett (R-UT)
  • Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
  • Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
  • Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
• Representatives
  • Roy Blunt (R-MO)
  • George Miller (D-CA)
  • Buck McKeon (R-CA)
  • Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
  • Donna Christensen (D-VI)
  • Tim Murphy (R-PA)
  • Michael Burgess (R-TX)
  • Nathan Deal (R-GA)
• Business
  • National Association of Manufacturers, John Engler
• Health industry & professions
  • Federation of American Hospitals, Chip Kahn
  • University of Chicago Medical School, Eric Whitaker
  • Pfizer, Jeff Kindler
  • PICO, Scott Hersey Reed
• Citizen groups
  • National Partnership for Women and Families, Deb Ness
  • Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, Fredette West
  • Alliance for Retired Americans, Ed Coyle

Breakout Group 3

Moderators: Peter Orszag and Eric Shinseki

• Senators
  • Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
  • Tom Harkin (D-IA)
  • Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
  • Judd Gregg (R-NH)
• Representatives
  • Charles Rangel (D-NY)
  • Dave Camp (R-MI)
  • Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
  • Lois Capps (D-CA)
  • Wally Herger (R-CA)
  • Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
  • Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
  • Eric Cantor (R-VA)
• Labor
  • United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), Joe Hansen
• Business
  • National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Dan Danner
• Health industry & professions
  • Catholic Health Association, Carol Keehan
  • Hispanic Medical Association, Elena Rios
  • America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Karen Ignani
• Citizen groups
  • Campaign for Mental Health Reform, Bill Emmett
  • Asian and Pacific Islander Health Forum]], Ho Tran
  • Families USA, Ron Pollack
  • Center for American Progress, John Podesta

Breakout Group 4

Moderators: Nancy-Ann DeParle and Diana Farrel

• Senators
  • Max Baucus (D-MT)
  • Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
  • Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
• Representatives
  • Henry Waxman(D-CA)
  • Joe Barton (R-TX)
  • Jim Cooper (D-TN)
• Labor
  • AFL-CIO, Gerry Shea
• Business
  • Small Business Majority, John Arensmeyer
• Health industry & professions
  • American Medical Association, Nancy Nielsen
  • PhRMA, Billy Tauzin
• Citizen groups
  • National Indian Health Board, Stacey Bohlen
  • National Association of People Living with AIDS, Frank Oldham

Breakout Group 5

Moderator: Larry Summers and Neera Tanden

• Senators
  • Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
  • Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
  • Ron Wyden (D-OR)
• Representatives
  • John Dingell (D-MI)
  • Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
  • Mike Ross (D-AR)
  • Pete Stark (by phone) (D-CA)
• Labor
  • Teamsters Union, Jim Hoffa
• Business
  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tom Donahue
• Health industry & professions
  • National Medical Association, Mohammad Akhter
• Citizen groups
  • Children's Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman
  • American Association of Retired Persons, Bill Novelli
  • HCAN, Richard Kirsch
  • University of Miami, Donna Shalala