Though Congress is adjourning for its summer recess, the health care debate is still a hot topic. A few of the highlights this morning: The first industry stakeholder to the table apparently gets a deal from the Obama adminstration, and the honor appears to go to drug makers. The New York Times reports that the pharmaceutical industry was assured by the administration that it wouldn’t have to bear any more of the costs of health reform beyond the $80 billion over 10 years that it previously agreed to. That pledge appears to be at odds with allowing Medicare to negotiate prices on prescription drugs — a provision included in a bill that recently cleared a House committee . Billy Tauzin, president of the drug industry trade group, told the NYT, “We were assured: ‘We need somebody to come in first. If you come in first, you will have a rock-solid deal,’ Who is

ever going to go into a deal with the White House again if they don’t keep their word? You are just going to duke it out instead.” A key Republican negotiating with Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, Sen. Mike Enzi , says that he’s committed to bipartisan support for a health care bill but he won’t be pressured into it. He tells the WSJ he doesn’t like the idea of a “one size fits all” public insurance plan option, but he favors proposals that would help small businesses pool resources to improve their bargaining position with health insurers. Meanwhile, outside of the halls of Congress, the debate over health care on the streets is heating up as expected and the questions are coming from constituents from both sides, note Politico and the Los Angeles Times .

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Health Reform: Drug Makers’ Deal, More Protests