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| Reelection prospects complicating Harry's good work on healthcare | ||
| 2009-10-15 | ||
| Health care talks slip back behind closed doors Wednesday as Senate leaders start trying to merge two very different bills into a new version that can get the 60 votes needed to guarantee its passage. All eyes are on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who has said he wants to complete the wedding quickly and get historic health care overhaul legislation onto the floor the week after next. Both bills were written by Democrats, but that's not going to make it easier for Reid. They share a common goal, which is to provide all Americans with access to affordable health insurance, but they differ on how to accomplish it. The Finance Committee bill that was approved Tuesday has no government-sponsored insurance plan and no requirement on employers that they must offer coverage. It relies instead on a requirement that all Americans obtain insurance. Sen. Olympia Snowe, the only committee Republican who supported advancing the Finance panel bill, suggested Wednesday a scenario in which a government-run plan could eventually come into play. Snowe told CBS's "The Early Show" that she believes a public option would give the government "a disproportionate advantage" over private insurers, and said she still opposes the concept. But at the same time, Snowe said that she wants "to make sure the insurance industry performs." In a separate interview on ABC's "Good Morning America," she said that if the industry did not live up to congressional expectations for more widely affordable and accessible insurance, "you could have the public option kick in immediately." And kick out when they came back into line of course? The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee bill, passed earlier by a panel in which liberals predominate, calls for both a government plan to compete with private insurers and a mandate that employers help cover their workers. Those are only two of dozens of differences. President Barack Obama acknowledges it's not going to be easy. Speaking Tuesday in the Rose Garden, Obama called the 14-9 Finance Committee vote "a critical milestone" toward getting a health care overhaul this year. The legislation won its first Republican support when Snowe broke ranks with her party, saying she was answering the call of history. Obama wasn't ready to bask in the bipartisan glow. "Now is not the time to pat ourselves on the back," he said. "Now is the time to dig in and There was no victory lap either for Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana. "The bottom line here is we need a final bill, a merged bill, that gets 60 votes," he said. "Our goal is to pass health care reform, not just talk about it." Aides say Reid has a keen sense of what the Senate will pass and he is focused on finding a solution that can get the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster. In general, bills moving toward floor votes in both houses would require most Americans to purchase insurance, provide federal subsidies to help those of lower incomes afford coverage and give small businesses help in defraying the cost of coverage for their workers. People without insurance go to the emergency room. You can lower costs by simply paying part or all of their health care premiums until such a time as they can afford it.
Soak the rich. Great. And wouldn't the second option just vanish if competition the was real? Apart from Snowe, Finance Committee Republicans cited higher taxes, a greater federal role in the insurance industry and other concerns as they lined up to oppose the bill. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the legislation would place the nation on a "slippery slope to more and more government control of health care." Then get rid of the legislation that requires this second layer of control! Snowe said there were problems with the bill but the risks of doing nothing were too great. Do something else then. Across the Capitol, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Ooooh! Days! For something with such far-reaching effects. Hardly worth it, right? Think of it this way: If you wait long enough, Harry won't have to worry about voter support and can get back to work in a Nancy-approved fashion! | ||
| Posted by:gorb |
| #2 I've read that her state's public health insurance plan is in desperate need of a bail-out, and she hopes the Democratic party's plan will accomplish that, USN, Ret. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-10-15 23:31 |
| #1 can anybody explain to me why Snowe bolted? is this a planned event or is she just bat-shit crazy? since her defection i saw a report of one or two more Pubs folding and joining the enemy.... |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2009-10-15 23:24 |