Health Insurance Quote Reform Weekly EasyToInsureME

Sept. 25, 2009

This Week in Health Care Reform

This week's health care reform debate focused on the long-awaited health care reform legislation proposed by Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT).

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Senate Negotiations

Introduced last week, Sen. Baucus's Finance Committee bill has faced criticisms from both sides of the aisle, resulting in 564 proposed amendments to the legislation. On Tuesday, to address some of the concerns outlined in those amendments, Sen. Baucus suggested changes to the bill that would further increase regulation of insurance companies, expand consumer protections and increase subsidies to help people buy insurance. In an effort to appease Republicans, he also exempted consumer items of $100 or less - items ranging from Q-tips to contact lenses - from a proposed tax on medical device manufacturers. As the week progressed, clear partisan battle lines emerged as Senate Democrats and Republicans debated controversial proposals, such as changes to Medicare .

As the Finance Committee continues the mark-up process and votes on amendments, Sen. Baucus will attempt to keep the 13 Finance Committee Democrats on board. He will have to achieve this without moving so far left politically that he loses the support of key Republicans, including Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the only Republican of the 10 who sit on the Finance Committee seen as likely to vote for the bill.

Outside of the committee, Sen. Snowe has become a pivotal figure in bipartisan negotiations for reform as Democrats seek the 60 votes in the Senate required to pass the legislation. Other reports suggest that the Finance Committee bill also has the backing of Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), another key swing senator.

Public Plan

President Obama Conducts Media Blitz: On Sunday, President Obama advocated for health care form legislation in back-to-back broadcasts of taped interviews on five morning news shows (ABC's "This Week," NBC's "Meet the Press," CBS's "Face the Nation," CNN's "State of the Union" and Spanish-language Univision's "Al Punto"). While admitting to being "humbled" by the challenge of reform, he called for a more civil tone in the debate.

Going into the Sunday interviews, a Siegel+Gale poll showed that, following President Obama's televised address to a joint session of Congress earlier this month, only 36.9% of Americans said they understood the President's reform plan. Of those who actually watched the President's address to Congress, 57.9% claimed to understand his platform.

Democrats Woo Seniors: White House officials and Democrats have focused on convincing skeptical seniors to support the administration's reform legislation. On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden visited a retirement community in Maryland to deliver the Democratic health care reform message and to reassure seniors that they will not see cuts in their Medicare coverage.

Additional Activities

First Lady Enters Health Care Debate: Working to galvanize women around health care reform, First Lady Michelle Obama jumped into the debate last week at a meeting of the newly formed White House Council on Women and Girls. Michelle Obama urged women to mobilize behind the President's plan. Meeting attendees included members of the Business and Professional Women, the YWCA, the Women's Chamber of Commerce and the National Council of Negro Women.

President Obama Speeds Up Tort Reform: Last Thursday, President Obama sought to ease tensions this week among physicians whose concerns over malpractice costs and Medicare reimbursement were modestly addressed in the Finance Committee bill. The President moved to accelerate a $25 million grant program aimed at addressing medical malpractice lawsuits.

Looking Ahead

Sen. Baucus plans to steer his health care reform bill through the Finance Committee by the end of the week. Once the Finance Committee votes and approves the bill, Senate leaders will then combine it with another bill approved by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in July.

A similar process is also occurring in the House with bills passed by three committees: Energy and Commerce; Education and Labor, and Ways and Means. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has indicated that she hopes to have a single, final version of the House bill by the end of next week.

White House Budget Director Peter Orszag anticipates completion of health care legislation by mid-November. He also believes that the final version will be largely based on the Senate Finance Committee bill.