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House Moves Closer to Healthcare Public Option
WASHINGTON - Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives moved closer on Tuesday to agreeing on a broad healthcare reform plan that would include the most liberal version of a government-run public insurance option.
A woman holds a sign to show her support for a strong public health insurance option in the health care reform bill in Coral Gables, Florida. (AFP/Getty Images/Joe Raedle) House members leaving an evening meeting with House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi said a "robust" public option was gaining support, buoyed by
preliminary estimates from budget analysts putting the cost of a bill
with the option at less than President Barack Obama's $900 billion target.
"The robust public option clearly outperforms the others," Representative Robert Andrews said after a two-hour meeting to discuss the choices. "Members are searching for the best way to reduce the cost of the bill and this is the best way."
The public option, favored by Obama and liberals as a way to create choice and competition in the insurance market, has become a debate flashpoint with critics calling it a government takeover that would hurt private insurance companies.
Democrats will launch a head count on Wednesday to gauge whether a bill that includes the strong version of a public option preferred by House liberals had the 218 votes needed to pass.
"The robust option is going to be at 218 plus," Representative Raul Grijalva said of a version that would peg reimbursement rates for healthcare providers to Medicare, the health program for the elderly.
Two other versions of the public option considered in the House would be based on reimbursement rates negotiated with doctors and hospitals, which has been the approach favored by some Democratic moderates and representatives of rural areas.
CLASH WITH SENATE
The inclusion of the strongest possible government-run public insurance option in the House bill could force a confrontation with the Senate, where the public option has less support and is less certain to be included in a final bill.
Obama has made a healthcare overhaul that reins in costs, regulates insurers and expands coverage to the uninsured his top domestic priority, but progress has been slowed in both chambers of Congress by battles over its size and cost.
Democratic House leaders, who have been meeting for weeks to merge three healthcare bills into one, said they were close to making their final decisions after the two-hour meeting.
They had asked for budget estimates on the three versions of a public option, and Pelosi said the preliminary estimates of the Congressional Budget Office indicated all three would reduce the budget deficit over 10 years, and at least two of the three would cost below $900 billion.
"The preliminary estimates we've seen from the CBO enable us to make our choices knowing that whatever choice we make will reduce the deficit and will pay for the bill," said Pelosi, who did not release the estimates.
A House Democratic aide said a bill with the "robust" version of the public option favored by liberals was estimated to cost about $870 billion, down from the more than $1 trillion price tag of the three original bills.
House members said the final CBO numbers were expected later this week.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll released on Tuesday showed the public option winning the support of a majority of Americans, 57 percent, but a top House Democrat said it was still short of the 60 votes it needed in the Senate.
"I'm told ... they have 53 to 54 votes in support of a public option in the Senate," Representative Chris Van Hollen told Reuters.
Senate leaders met for a second consecutive night to work on merging two healthcare bills into one for floor debate. Only one of the two bills includes a public option.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said afterward the session, attended by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, was another step forward. "We're not completely to the point where the two bills are together," he said.
A related proposal to boost Medicare payments to doctors ran into trouble in the Senate on Tuesday as Republicans and some Democrats balked at adding $250 billion to skyrocketing U.S. deficits over the next decade.
Senator Richard Durbin said Democratic leaders lack the 60 votes needed for the measure to overcome procedural hurdles in the 100-member Senate.
(Additional reporting by Donna Smith and Susan Heavey; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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21 Comments so far
Show AllIs this the "robust" option that includes 12 women named Susan or the "strong" option that adds 7 guys named Fred?
Force the conservative Democratic Senators to confront a bill with a strong public option! The People would put a fear in them forcing them to vote for the bill. Let them feel the full measure of the ire of the people. Let them know that the People are dead serious. Let it winnow down to one conservative democrat standing between health care and the people. Force this confrontation with reality upon them. Roll over their phony opposition.
We need to shift the discussion of the cost of public healthcare financing (ie single payer) away from the cost to the government and toward consideration of the cost to the US economy.
With a well designed single-payer system of healthcare financing, the increase in taxes born by the taxpayer is more than offset by savings for the ratepayer (who happen to be the same person). Spending $300 billion more in taxes sounds pretty good when we save $600 billion by not supporting a totally unnecessary industry.
q
Heck, you don't even need to tax the common man.
In my state we use the lottery to help pay for public schools.
We could pay for a single-payer system in a similar way that'd have OVERWHELMING SUPPORT across the political spectrum..
(1) Tax Hedge Funds at 35%, not 15%. (Everybody hates hedge funds even if they don't know what they are)
(2) Put a nickel fee on all the trillions of stock, bond and option transactions each year. (It's about damn time these purchases were taxed)
(3) Raise the top marginal tax rate to 70% on all income over $5 million. (This populist idea would excite millions)
And cut Pentagon spending by 15 percent every year for the next decade . . .
See the figures at www.nationalpriorities.org
Hopefully I will be signing up for public option Medicare this coming year. Write your Senators and Congressperson today! We need to get the heat on for public option Medicare. There is a chink in the corporate fascist armor and we need to seize the opportunity.
Even if a House version of the public option passes (unlikely) the program will not be available until 2013.
You can see this whole thing morphing right before our very eyes. As they crunch these numbers further, the public option gathers greater steam. If the Republicans force a fiscally responsible solution, the Democrats are going to further be pushed into a public Medicare option. Talk about the law of unintended consequences. Reality is, public Medicare really is better and cheaper. How this plays out remains to be seen.
I think pressure on our Democratic federal representatives can help at this point. I have written all three of my federal representatives and threatened the two Democrats with abandoning them at the voting booth if we don't get a public Medicare option. The republican will never get my vote but I still enjoyed calling him an a-hole.
First they say: "The public option, favored by Obama and liberals..."
Then they say: "A ... poll released on Tuesday showed the public option winning the support of a majority of Americans, 57 percent,..."
Question for Reuters...Why didn't you correct the first statement to read: "The public option is supported by the majority of AMERICANS, 57%".
Are you trying to isolate liberals portraying them alone in wanting a government run insurance plan?
Now why would you do that?
The "publc option" is the deceitful insurance company fall- back position for allowing them to cherry-pick their roles clean of anybody but the youngest, strongest, and least likely to need medical treatment for policy holders.
Yes to single payer--no to everything else!
Poet
I disagree. The compromise is public option Medicare. And if you build it, they will come. If I can sign up for Medicare, I'll be in my HR office the day it happens and I'll be happy to drop my private insurance. I suspect there are millions like me. The laggards can hold onto their private insurance but they'll jump ship soon enough when they can compare coverage with their co-workers.
I am convinced that "foot in the door" will really work because I know how miserable and costly the current system is.
Signing up is not the same as properly funding and maintaining the program. Fascist neocons learned long ago that it is unnecessary to repeal programs and regulations they detest if they can either defund the enforcement or enactment of such programs.
Poet
If we get Medicare for the under 65 crowd, they'll have a heckuva time defunding it or revoking it.
Poet
You are absolutely correct. Public Option is a scam. In reality this is nothing more than a tax bill and I'd be surprised if the care kicked in in 2014. I believe it would be scaled back to practically nothing.
Besides if we still have 25 million uncovered, whats the difference? (except for the taxes which start immediately)
One question about this public option I have is this. As one who has suffered long term unemployment in the past, will this option be available to them?
If the wars and occupations were scaled back the tax money saved could easily help fund health care. At half a trillion a year or so for war funding that is at least three times over fully funding healthcare over the ten year span so often referenced.
Add Public Option to the bill and it goes down to defeat. So I hope they add it. This bill deserves defeat. Its a scam.
Single Payer.....or "Medicare for all" is the only solution, anything else is smoke and mirrors to hide new taxes.
Henry, single payer would involve new taxes, too. There's nothing wrong with new taxes if they would save people hundreds of billions of dollars a year in premiums and unnecessary health care costs. Give a dollar to the government or give two dollars to the health insurance vampires. Some people hear the word "taxes" and their minds just shut down.
"A Washington Post/ABC News poll released on Tuesday showed the public option winning the support of a majority of Americans, 57 percent, but a top House Democrat said it was still short of the 60 votes it needed in the Senate.
"I'm told ... they have 53 to 54 votes in support of a public option in the Senate," Representative Chris Van Hollen told Reuters."
I was pretty good at math in my youth, and I believe 53 or 54 votes is enough to pass the bill!
Angry is not strong enough a word to express how I would feel if this did not pass because they are worried about a fillibuster.
I am not a Democrat, but I cannot believe they did not learn anything from the Republicans about demonizing the fillibuster and making it a politically damaging option. Heck, the Republicans threatened to pass legislation to do away with the process!
Anyway, I certainly believe single payer for all is the way to go, but these are hopeful signs regarding the shape of the debate.
Finally, Congress is delivering sweeping health care reform. Only the Republicans and the Naderites want it to fail.
Pass the public option in the form of medicare for all.
When the insurance companies are out of business the savings will more than pay for medicare for all---with no deductibles or co-pays or exclusions---including dental care.