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SMALL BUSINESS
Senate Begins Health Care Debate
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
, AP
posted: 71 DAYS 20 HOURS AGO
filed under: National News, Political News
WASHINGTON (Nov. 30) — Senate Democrats face deep divisions within their ranks as they begin debate Monday on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, with the recent all-hands-on-deck coalition frayed over abortion and the option of government-run insurance.
While majority Democrats will need 60 votes to finish, some in the party say they'll jump ship from the bill without tighter restrictions on abortion coverage. Others say they'll go unless a government plan to compete with private insurance companies gets tossed. Such concessions would enrage liberals, the party's heart and soul.
Alex Brandon, AP
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will try to bring his party together on health care legislation in the Senate.
There's no clear course for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to steer legislation through Congress to the president's desk. You can't make history unless you reach 60 votes, and don't count on Republicans helping him.
But Reid is determined to avoid being remembered as another Democrat who tried and failed to make health care access for the middle class a part of America's social safety net.
"Generation after generation has called on us to fix this broken system," he said at a recent Capitol Hill rally. "We're now closer than ever to getting it done."
His bill includes $848 billion over 10 years to gradually expand coverage to most of those now uninsured. It would ban onerous insurance industry practices such as denying coverage or charging higher premiums because of someone's poor health. Those who now have the hardest time getting coverage — the self-employed and small businesses — could buy a policy in a new insurance market, with government subsidies for many. Older people would get better prescription coverage.
Most people covered by big employers would gain more protections without major changes. One exception would be those with high-cost insurance plans, whose premiums could rise as a result of a tax on insurers issue the coverage.
Moderate senators who will be critical to the outcome were already coming under pressure. The group Conservatives for Patients Rights began running an ad targeting 14 centrist lawmakers and urging voters to tell them to oppose a government insurance plan. The group is spending an initial $250,000 to air the ad for a week on CNN and Fox News Channel.
The Senate bill would establish government-run insurance but allow states to opt out.
The public is ambivalent about the Democrats' legislation. While 58 percent want elected officials to tackle health care now, about half of those supporters say they don't like what they're hearing about the plans, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll.
The Senate debate risks alienating more people because much of the discussion probably will revolve around divisive issues that preoccupy lawmakers.
"A large portion of the debate will be spent on issues that aren't important to the workability of health reform," said Paul Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change.
The debate should start off modestly, with each side offering one amendment. No votes were scheduled Monday.
Reid wants to finish by Christmas; he may not get to.
Of the many issues senators have to weigh, abortion funding and the option of a government insurance plan promise to be the most difficult.
On abortion, no compromise seems possible. On the public plan, a deal may yet be had.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-11-30 06:25:26
COMMENTS ( 375 )
Have you listene to the analyis of the cost for the second 10 year period? How about the years starting at number 5 and ending at number 15? How does 2 and one- half TRILLION Dollars strike you?
This thing has much more serious consequences than Abortion Funding. The public options is not even the most dangerous of provisions! The health panels are! I have not heard nor read of any provision that I think would help most people.
Certainly, more would be eligible for Medicaid, requiring that the states fund their share. But that could be done without a complete takeover of the Health Care Industry! Senior benefits such as more money for medicine could also be enacted. But, they had better insure that Medicaid and Medicare will be around in say another 15 years, before they start trying to cover every Tom, Dick and Harry, along with the Illegal aliens in the country.
Nothing that I have seen would even begin to lower the cost of going to the doctor, nor of buying your medications, nor the various trips to hospital. Surgical procedures have not been mentioned. The only thing I have heard is the "Fines, Fees, Taxes, and reducing the Government Payment to doctors for Medicare covered expenses. That will leave the remainder on the backs of the Patient. Doesn't seem like much of an improvement to me!