Secret meetings and health reform

So, I’m not The New York Times, which means I’m not the first health care journalist to find an internal White House memo in my mailbox. Those go to Robert Pear at the Times, who recently gave us a peek inside the workings of the Obama team reform team.

Since last fall, many of the leading figures in the nation’s long-running health care debate have been meeting secretly in a Senate hearing room. Now, with the blessing of the Senate’s leading proponent of universal health insurance, Edward M. Kennedy, they appear to be inching toward a consensus that could reshape the debate.

I understand that some initial public policy debates have to take place in private. But, I’m not a big fan of secret meetings. Remember Hillary Clinton’s secret health care team?That process didn’t work out too well for anyone.

See what new-model journalism site ProPublica has to say about this.