After Republicans heard from pollster Frank Luntz last week to help them craft their message on health care, Senate Democrats got a visit from David Axelrod, a Democratic consultant and senior adviser to President Obama.

Axelrod was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to help hone talking points that the Democrats’ health care overhaul would bring down costs, give more people access to coverage and allow people to keep their plan if they want.

Obama echoed those goals in a statement with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D‑Calif., as the two said the House would pass a health care bill by July 31.

“First, that the rising costs of health care have to be brought down; second, that Americans have to be able to choose their own doctor and their own plan; and, third, all Americans have to have quality, affordable health care,” Obama said in a statement Wednesday morning.

Policy vs. Presentation

Until now, Democrats have mostly focused on debating the policy issues that will make up an overhaul bill. But Axelrod’s visit is part of a shift in focus on how to sell that policy. “Message is important,” said Sen. Ben Nelson , D-Neb.

“This is an effort to coordinate our message so we present a health care reform effort the American people trust,” said Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin , D-Ill.

“The Republicans have put a lot of time and effort into figuring out how to stop health care reform, so there were just some questions on our side about, ‘Gee, are we prepared to deal with that?’” said Sen. Evan Bayh , D-Ind. “I think there was some unease that we didn’t have a strategy. [Axelrod] was coming up to reassure the Senate that they do have a strategy.”

Axelrod presented polling data that dealt with what Americans want from a health care plan. Leaving the meeting, senators appeared to have gotten the message about what to say and how to say it.

“We are going to make health care more affordable and more accessible, it’s going to be patient-centered, and it’s going to preserve what people are looking for — their right to choose their doctor, to keep health insurance plans they currently have, and to fix what’s broken in the system but preserve what’s good,” Durbin said.

“It was about what people like in the current health care system, and what they don’t like about our current health care system,” said Sen. Max Baucus , D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee and one of the main authors of the health care overhaul in the works.

House Democrats from the Energy and Commerce Committee and Ways and Means Committee also met Wednesday morning to discuss a framework for the bill they are drafting and to start working out jurisdictional issues as they move toward markups in June.

The session was at least partly a response to presentations Luntz gave to House and Senate Republicans last week about how to talk about health care and how to possibly sink the Democratic effort.