11:03 a.m.: Democratic health care coalition survives deal
WASHINGTON (AP) - After agreeing tentatively to jettison a key liberal priority - a full-blown government-run insurance option - Senate Democrats woke up Wednesday to find that the fragile coalition backing President Barack Obama's health care bill is still together.
A leading liberal - former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean - and a much-courted moderate - Connecticut independent Sen. Joe Lieberman - both signaled they might be able to live with a compromise to offer private insurance plans under the auspices of the federal employee health program, while also allowing middle-aged people to buy into Medicare.
"I am encourged by the progress toward a consensus," Lieberman said in a statement issued by his office, which also underscored his opposition to a new government insurance plan that would compete with private carriers.
Dean, meanwhile, said the Medicare option for people age 55 to 64 was "a positive step forward." A physician, former presidential candidate and one-time Vermont governor, Dean has been one of the most vocal supporters of the idea that the government should get into the health insurance market.
"Using Medicare makes more sense than reinventing more bureaucracy," said Dean, appearing on CBS' "The Early Show."
However, as the Senate continued to debate, a powerful small business group swung into opposition. The National Federation of Independent Business, which was instrumental in defeating then-President Bill Clinton's health care bill in the 1990s, said the Democratic bill would raise costs and make it harder to create jobs.
"Despite the inclusion of insurance market reforms in the small-group and individual marketplaces, the savings that may materialize are too small for too few and the increases in premium costs are too great for too many," NFIB vice president Susan Eckerly said in a letter to Senate leaders.
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was upbeat about the bill's prospects.
"We've overcome a real problem that we had," Reid said in announcing what he called a "broad agreement" Tuesday night.
Officials said it included nonprofit national health plans administered by the Office of Personnel Management, which runs the popular federal employees' health plan, as well as opening Medicare to uninsured Americans beginning at age 55, effective in 2011.
Greater government involvement would potentially kick in if private insurance companies declined to participate in the nationwide plan, although details weren't available. One possibility was for the personnel office to set up a government-run plan, either national in scope or on a state-by-state basis.
"I think when people see this they'll really like what we've done," said Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., who was among five moderate senators who spent several days negotiating with five liberals. Reid planned to describe the plan in greater detail after getting an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.
The White House weighed in quickly with a statement from spokesman Reid Cherlin. "Senators are making great progress and we're pleased that they're working together to find common ground toward options that increase choice and competition," he said.
The Senate is in its second week of debate on the 10-year, nearly $1 trillion legislation that would dramatically remake the U.S. health care system and extend coverage to millions of the uninsured, with a new requirement for nearly everyone to purchase insurance. New purchasing marketplaces called exchanges would make it easier for small businesses and people without government or employer coverage to shop for health insurance, and onerous insurance company practices such as denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions would be banned.
The deal reached Tuesday puts even more requirements on insurers by requiring that 90 percent of premium dollars be spent on medical benefits, as opposed to administrative costs, officials said. The officials who described the details of the closed-door negotiations did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss them publicly.
Reid wants action on the health bill by Christmas but more challenges lie ahead. On Wednesday, senators expected to debate an amendment by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., to legalize the importation of prescription drugs from Canada and several other countries as a way of holding down consumer costs. The idea enjoys widespread support but is opposed by the pharmaceutical industry, which has worked closely with the administration on health care and has spent millions of dollars on television advertisements in support of legislation.
The Food and Drug Administration issued a letter saying it would be "logistically challenging" to assure the safety of imported drugs, raising concerns without stating outright opposition.
Underscoring the heated emotions surrounding the government insurance plan, Reid refused to acknowledge its demise, contending that reports it was gone were "not true."
In a statement, Reid said the emerging compromise "includes a public option and will help ensure the American people win in two ways: one, insurance companies will face more competition, and two, the American people will have more choices."
It wasn't clear what he meant by a "public option" - the Medicare expansion or another element.
Either way, it's a far cry from what liberals had in mind when they envisioned the government competing directly with private insurers to offer health coverage to uninsured or self-employed Americans.
Even though the government plan would have been available to relatively few people, it took on outsize importance in the health care debate. Liberal groups clamored for it as necessary to offer consumers choice and competition, while Republicans and business groups - and critically, a bloc of moderate senators - contended it could mushroom out of control and drive private companies out of business.
Reid must have the support of all 58 Senate Democrats and two independents to achieve the necessary 60 votes to overcome Republican stalling tactics and advance legislation, giving great influence to the handful of moderates opposed to the government insurance plan.
Reid already faced the prospect of losing moderate Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who said his support was in question after the failure of an amendment he offered Tuesday to insert tougher abortion restrictions into the legislation. The vote was 54-45.
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turi57
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12-13-09 4:38 PM
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All you HYPOCRITES that are against government health care... I want to know how many of you are willing to give back your SS check and turning down Medicare and buying your own insurance... HIPOCRITES!
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turi57
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12-13-09 4:33 PM
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What really get under my skin is the fact that we spend $149 billion a month in wars protecting people that don't like us and yet those same people have a problem with taking care of AMERICA. Anything less then Medicare for every american is a slap in the face... the Republicans and those few democrats that are in the pockets of the insurance industry are watering down this health care bill to the point where it is worthless and then blame Obama for the mess... HYPOCRITES!
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Billdog
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12-10-09 12:44 PM
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The I don't want government in my life people are the first to complain when the snow isn't cleared off the roads, police don't respond quick enough for them, or fire department doesn't get to their house fast enough. They don't want their kids defending their freedom, but support every war, and want their share of Social Security. They really don't like government programs do they.
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Daniel
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12-10-09 7:16 AM
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So sick of hearing people complain about socialism. Do you or have you ever had children in public school? pull them out and put them in private schools and pay for it yourself and stop using socialized education! otherwise do not bash the health care issue! Dan The Gripezone>com
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repubslie
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12-09-09 8:47 PM
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Congratulations Republicans. As of this evening, the health care reform will consist of the following: 30 million people will be required to purchase health insurance even if they don't want to. And, because there will not be a public option, only insurance companies will be "fixing" the price. All of you who have been opposed to the single payer system, got your way. I hope you or your children are required to buy the insurance. It probably won't be you because you probably already have socialized medicine -- Medicare. Your good buddies & friends, the insurance executives, are still in charge. Happy?
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AFRET1
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12-09-09 6:13 PM
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Memo to Obama: Go to Copenhagen and promise money to help with the Global Warming lies, and stay out of my health care! Forget about Cap & Tax, quit supporting another stimilus. And stop appearing on my TV EVERYDAY. I am a conservative and readily admit that Bush was not the greatest president we have ever had, but Obama needs to stop running against Bush. It's over, dummy! And stop bankrupting our country. Ladies and gentlemen, we really need to wake up and see what he's doing to us.
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insider
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12-09-09 6:08 PM
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Okay, So the government plan will have to compete with the private plans? Who gets to set the rules? Why shazam! The government will set the rules! Duh! The private insurance companies have as much chance of competing fairly as the Washington Generals have of beating the Harlem Globetrotters.
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Billdog
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12-09-09 5:38 PM
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Don't worry the sky isn't falling. Now the private insurance companies have to lower cost to compete. I don’t understand the logic that this will drive cost up. The governments only way to get people to buy their plan over the private is reduce the cost. So the private companies in order gain or even keep customers will have to reduce prices.
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insider
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12-09-09 4:31 PM
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The American people are giving the Democrat Congress rope and saying, "Here, string us up." The people, who voted this crowd in, won't even trust their kids with a babysitter unless she has three references and a background check, is willing to hand over their health care decisions to faceless government bureaucrats? Stop this socialist boat; I want to get off. I hope the anti-statists in Congress can delay this self inflicted disaster until election day 2010.
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repubslie
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12-09-09 4:16 PM
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Too bad this country can't have health care for everyone as is the case in 17 countries. We are supposed to be the wealthiest country on the planet & yet we don't take care of each other as less wealthy countries do. Those with private health insurance are already paying for those uninsured people in the form of higher premiums -- a "hidden tax". It doesn't have to be this way if we could just get rid of the "for profit" health insurance companies who get filthy rich from people being sick.
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CURLEY
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12-09-09 12:57 PM
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If you think healthcare is expensive now,you just wait.
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pahootaman
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12-09-09 12:53 PM
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I agree tootired, but putting something like that on the table is sure fire political suicide. You would have the republicans crying out that it's outright communistic fascisim (it's a oxymoron, I know) and you would have the dems fight with themselves till oblivion trying to reach middle ground. I think this whole health care reform debate has really shown the weaknesses of a slim majority in government. Dem Senators 58, 59, and 60 will ultimately have waaaay more say than they should in the final language of the bill. These Senators historically come from very low populated states I might add, thus aggrivating the discrepancy in representation all the more.
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GraphicsMonkey
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12-09-09 12:52 PM
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Well, my workplace insurance just went went up drastically, and it doesn't cover much to begin with. What did Han Solo say again? Oh yeah, "I've got a BAD feelin' about this..."
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tootired
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12-09-09 12:14 PM
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A public option out of an existing program is the way to go. That is if you wanted a public option. For the people that want universal single payer, they should start pushing for newborns to be put on medicare in about the year 2013. That will be enough time to absorb, adjust, and for the mindset to accept the 55 buy in. In one generation millions of people will be covered. In 2 most. My first choice is still buying across state lines and loser pays but I would accept this plan if I was your republican representative(and medicare was fixed).
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Swelterstat
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12-09-09 12:11 PM
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just another way to screw the american people..the only thing ive read is where they want to cut costs,which in turn means cut services.When the*****are one of the people in goverment going to do something for the working america.....
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JWILL2
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12-09-09 11:15 AM
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This will be a mess.
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pahootaman
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12-09-09 11:09 AM
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them = then
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pahootaman
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12-09-09 11:09 AM
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Bill Mahr was right, Obama should of started with the single payer system, THEM comprimise from there instead of starting at the comprimise standpoint.
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