Health Care Roundup

One interesting item that leaked out was that Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid supposedly told doctor's groups that there would be no medical malpractice reforms in the Democrats' bill.

That means a showdown on that issue for sure on the Senate floor, just one of the many issues that will have to be settled in coming weeks.

SOURCE: Jamie Dupree

House Democrats pull nuclear option

Based on that information Ways and Means Republicans sought to offer amendments to the House Democrats’ healthcare bill yesterday. Unfortunately those amendments and the voices of the American people were shut out when Ways and Means Democrats rammed through a letter instructing the House Budget Committee to consider healthcare under reconciliation – which requires only 51 votes for Senate passage as opposed to the normal 60 votes. In taking this nuclear option on healthcare, House Democrat leaders sent a clear signal that they plan to go it alone – without the support of the American people, without bipartisan support and without the support of many of their fellow Democrats.

SOURCE: The Hill

House, Senate Dems at odds on health care

WASHINGTON - It's not just Democrats and Republicans who are at odds over health care reform. House and Senate Democrats are going after each other over the shape of the legislation that is President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

[...] The big sticking points are these:

Government insurance:

House Democrats are adamant about allowing the government to sell insurance to people who don't have affordable care and are too young for Medicare or make too much money for Medicaid. The government-run Medicare program covers the elderly, while Medicaid offers coverage to the poor. The leading Senate bill contains no such public option and even if senators ultimately agree to some public plan variant, it's certain to be much weaker than the House version. Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California has staked out an uncompromising position on the issue. "I want to send our conferees to the table with the most muscle for America's middle class," she says.

Employer responsibility:

The House includes a requirement for employers to provide insurance coverage to their employees or pay a penalty. There's no such mandate in the leading Senate bill. Instead, employers would be required to pay a fee for any employee who obtains coverage with government subsidies. The distinction may seem subtle, but it makes a big difference to business groups and Democrats on both ends of the ideological spectrum.

Paying for the bill:

In recent weeks, the issue of affordability has become central to the health overhaul debate, in part because it's a critical concern for Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, who has considerable leverage as the only Republican in Congress to have voted in favor of Democratic health care legislation. The House offers more generous subsidies to lower-income people than the Senate, and senators have already talked about adjusting their subsidies upward. That's where the cost of the bill and the different methods used to pay for it in the House and Senate come in.

SOURCE: MSNBC

‘Reconciliation’ – Never Meant For Policy

NOTE: This press release from the Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee is a great description and history of the reconciliation legislative process. It contains FAQs and numerous quotes from Senator Byrd who created the process, as well as other Senators. A great resource. Short sample:

Reconciliation: Not What The Doctor Ordered

Reconciliation is a Fiscal Policy Tool

• Tool to enhance Congress’s ability to change current law to bring spending and revenues in line with levels assumed in budget resolution.
• Reconciliation instructions are numerical targets and are not program-specific.
• Reconciliation allows Congress as a whole to push committees with jurisdiction over direct spending (and taxes) to legislate changes to programs that would otherwise be on automatic pilot to meet the numerical targets included in instructions.
• Reconciliation legislation is considered in the Senate under expedited procedures: debate is limited to 20 hours, non-germane amendments are not in order, a vote is guaranteed and requires only a simple majority to pass.

The Principal Focus of the Reconciliation Process Has Been Deficit Reduction

• In some years reconciliation has involved revenue reduction and spending increases in selected areas.

SOURCE: Sweetness & Light