ATLANTA, Oct. 5, 2012—Attention executives: On Monday, October 15, Medtrade and Nielsen are offering “The HME Executive Alliance,” designed to provide high-level insight into the political and economic landscapes affecting the home care industry and the overall health care sector. Featured speaker Ira Shapiro, an international trade lawyer in Washington, D.C., and trade ambassador in the Clinton administration, will discuss the potential impact of the upcoming Presidential/Congressional election. The event will be held on October 15 at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta. Held the day before the official start of Medtrade, the conference is designed to assist HME executives by providing information and networking opportunities that will help them better evaluate their business environment for strategic decision making.
Ambassador Shapiro’s keynote luncheon address is titled “America’s Political Dysfunction: Will the Elections Change It?” Shapiro is uniquely qualified to answer this difficult question thanks to several years experience working in the Senate, beginning in 1975.
Not one to shy away from provocative political stances, the author of The Last Great Senate contends that the current deliberative body is “polarized, paralyzed and dysfunctional,” a state of affairs that has only worsened over the last 20 years. Despite the seeming gloom and doom, Shapiro has optimism. “I am relatively hopeful,” he says. “The reason is that I believe a large number of people in the Senate—Democratic and Republican—are as angry and frustrated about the Senate as the public is. I think there is a chance that they will increasingly try to come together to make the Senate, if not great again, then at least respectable.”
Shapiro lays most of the blame on the Republicans. “It’s possible my audience won’t agree with me,” he says. “But I think we have had a republican party that is not interested in governing, and not interested in factual evidence. Basically, their goal has been to obstruct the operation of the government. And that has been a real problem.
“Although I am a partisan democrat, I don’t think my analysis is any different than most moderate Republicans,” he adds. “They can’t really believe what their party has become. It is generally agreed, at least by democrats, moderate republicans, and by moderately conservative republicans, that the party has moved again and again to the right. When you think they can’t move further to the right, they move further to the right. There is a wing of the party that is increasingly anti-government in all its forms.”
As for the recent bill to replace competitive bidding (H.R. 6490) with the market pricing program, the Brendeis University graduate believes there is at least some hope of capitalizing on the lame duck session. “All of us are a little bit uncertain as to how much is going to get done in the lame duck session, as opposed to kicking the ball into January for the next Congress,” says Shapiro, who was deeply involved with negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement during the Clinton administration. “The industry is likely looking at the lame duck session and saying, ‘If there is going to be some massive legislative fix, is there any possibility we can get our things into it?’ But I don’t think it will be easy.”
Part of the difficulty, and the opportunity, lies in the so-called “fiscal cliff” that will soon dominate all political discussions. Home care advocates may be able to piggy back on legislation to fix “the cliff,” but there are no guarantees.
Shapiro says the cliff is a result of the scheduled expiration of the Bush tax cuts, combined with automatic spending cuts (dubbed “sequestration”). “The Congressional group did not come up with a consensus, and if allowed to go forward would throw us in all likelihood into recession again,” he says. “Because of that, people don’t really think that automatic cuts will be allowed to happen. Negotiations thus far to avoid it have not been conclusive. If President Obama is elected, it may be possible to move ahead more rapidly. If Governor Romney were to win, he may request a delay to put forth his own program.”
Looking into his presidential crystal ball, Shapiro firmly believes Obama will be re-elected to a second term, citing positive numbers that bode well for the Democrat. “The economy is weaker than most Americans would like, but I think there is considerable understanding as to how bad the situation was that he inherited, and that things have improved from there.” says Shapiro. “Obama’s approval rating is about 50%. The last two presidents defeated running for re-election had rates of 34% and 35%. Romney has been an atrocious candidate, unable to connect with most people’s concerns, and his disapproval ratings have been high.”
Shapiro’s words are provocative to some, but he hopes listeners will take the comments in a spirit of vigorous and constructive debate. “I am not a blind partisan,” contends Shapiro. “I have worked over the years with a lot of Republicans. I went to the White House when President Bush asked democrats to come and support one of his trade agreements. I stood with President Bush. I believe our system requires minority cooperation and a loyal opposition. One party is not supposed to do it by themselves. If I sound partisan, I’m actually not. We need vigorous and competitive elections.”
Other speakers include Jonathan Sadock and April Mason of Paragon Ventures LLC, who will present an afternoon session on “Exercising Your Strategic Options in a Turbulent Market.”
Go here for information on how to obtain an invitation to this event. The registration fee is $449, which covers the sessions, materials, lunch, coffee break and reception. Admission to Medtrade 2012 and a Medtrade conference pass are also included. Find additional details and registration information here.