Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:13:2
Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - House Democrats are planning to begin floor debate on their healthcare proposal on Saturday, with a vote expected that same night, despite the admission of their allies in the Senate that a bill may not be passed this year as they had hoped. Republicans, who released an alternative reform proposal this week, hold a rally at the Capitol on Thursday.
The House Committee on Rules meets late Friday to set guidelines for debate and for submitting amendments to the bill. Debate can only proceed after the rules are set, and comes after the the 72-hour window required for public review of the bill.
"We are now in the final stage of moving this critical bill through the House," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said in a statement this week. "We pledged we would make this amendment available for 72 hours before a vote. Now that the Amendment is posted, the clock has started."
House Democrats filed a measure called a manager's amendment on Tuesday making revision to the $894 billion healthcare bill they released last week.
Their bill covers up to 96 percent of Americans and reduces the deficit by $30 billion over a decade. But reports, citing spending that was left out of the released version, had put the cost of the measure around the trillion-dollar mark, way above the $900 billion over 10 years that President Barack Obama had requested.
The amendment they filed strengthens provisions against anti-trust exemptions for insurers, and gives states $1 billion to prevent insurers from price gouging.
The amendment does not appear to address concerns from Progressives, who make up the largest caucus in Congress. The House Democratic bill for debate has a public option that allows doctors to negotiate payment rates. Progressives had opposed the centrist approach, pushing for a government program based on Medicare provider payments and negotiated rates would "weaken" reform.
Moreover, the amendment does not address concerns from some Democrats about the bill's language on abortion, but adds requirements before immigrants can avail of funds, and prohibits illegal aliens from taking part in a nationwide high-risk pools.
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) said this week he is still concerned about the language in the bill on abortion, and is "urging House leadership to allow an up or down vote on whether public funding for abortion should be allowed."
Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-IN), who has pledged to withhold support for the bill if the issue is not addressed, plans to introduce an amendment that would make five key changes to the provisions on abortion, including expanding conscience protections to prevent discrimination against pro-life health insurance plans.
The moves to hold a vote on the measure comes the same week as Republicans unveiled an alternative proposal that the Congressional Budget Office said in a preliminary analysis would cost $61 billion but would add expand coverage to only 3 million uninsured Americans.
The proposal from the GOP does not aim to directly expand coverage for the 47 million uninsured Americans, and seeks instead to achieve that goal by lowering costs of healthcare. The CBO the measure meets this goal by lowering health care premiums by up to 10 percent. The proposal would reduce the deficit by $68 billion over 10 years.
The bill rewards people who use health savings accounts, and introduces medical malpractice reforms to "end costly junk lawsuits." It measure does not require employers to provide insurance for workers, but "gives employers greater flexibility to financially reward employees who adopt healthier lifestyles." It explicitly bans the use of federal funds for abortions, makes no cuts to Medicare, and does not provide subsidies for low-income families to buy insurance.
The Republican measure does not prohibit insurers from declining coverage because of pre-existing conditions, but "creates Universal Access Programs that expand and reform high-risk pools and reinsurance programs to guarantee that all Americans, regardless of pre-existing conditions, have access to affordable care."
"Not only does the GOP plan lower health care costs, but it also increases access to quality care - including for those with pre-existing conditions - at a price our country can afford," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said in a statement welcoming the CBO estimate. "The cost of the Speaker's bill, now at $1.3 trillion and counting, is a debt that will be paid for by our kids and our grandkids."
Boehner will be one of many Republican leaders, including House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Republican Study Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA), gathered on the west front steps of the U.S. Capitol on Thursday to "deliver a message that the American people reject a government takeover of health care."
In the Senate, Democrats last week moved closer to holding floor debate on their healthcare bill, sending a measure merged from the bills of the late Ted Kennedy and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) to the CBO for scoring.
The legislation includes a public option that will allow states to opt out, as well as non-profit insurance cooperatives, a key element of the bill reported out by the Finance Committee.
With Thanksgiving only weeks away, passage of the Obama administration's priority legislation before the end of the year is somewhat in doubt. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on Tuesday for the first time admitted Democrats may have to continue their fight to next year.
"We're not going to be bound by any timelines," he said in a press conference. "We want quality legislation and we're going to do that. We're going to do this legislation as expeditiously as we can and as fairly as we can."
Asked the earliest time he expects his chamber to begin debate on the measure, Reid said, "I have talked to [CBO Director] Doug Elmendorf. We talk weekends, nights... but we're doing this just as quickly as we can. [CBO is] doing their very best."
The Senate holds a three-day recess during Veteran's Day, and another week-long break for Thanksgiving.
Apart from the delay spent waiting for the CBO score, Senate Democrats have yet to gather the minimum 60 votes to overcome GOP filibusters on a healthcare bill. Democrats hold a 60-vote majority in the chamber but the number includes two independents who caucus with them: Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Bernard Sanders (I-VT). Lieberman has pledged to join the Republican filibuster if the bill includes a public option.
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