Senate has engaged in taking major steps toward an extensive overhaul for the nation’s health care system. It is the intent of the Democrats despite strenuous GOP opposition to insure a national/socialized health-care plan. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., is overseeing the proceedings in place of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., because of medical complications. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee have begun work on a bill encompassing President Barack Obama’s legislative priority. The effort marked the first time since President Bill Clinton’s administration by Hillary Clinton’s proposal that Congress tackled a national health care system.
High costs and assumed uneven health care for millions of Americans that are uninsured have created the strongest political momentum for re-addressing a reform to the health care system in a decade. Only 1/3 of the Senate measure has been estimated to cost about $1 trillion over 10 years with an additional $1 trillion for the other 2 segments over the same 10 year time span. Even this could still leave 37 million people uninsured, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. So it looks as a full reform health care plan could cost more than $3 trillion.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. and other prominent GOP senators questions how the committee can move ahead on legislation without determined cost. How can this possibly and reasonably be addressed without an accounting of how to pay for it?”
Dodd’s response is that the budget office has provided accurate numbers on some elements and the committee would produce legislation that will be paid for.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, speaking in the full Senate, stated that lawmakers are once again being pressured to approve this measure without time and opportunity to gain the knowledge needed to make an informed decision or review the proposed propositions and costs. His objection is that this is the same type of pressure that was forced on the legislature when the debacle of the stimulus bill was passed. “Once again it’s rush and spend and rush and spend and a tidal wave of debt,” McConnell said. Many disagreements over costs and other issues continue to hinder progress.
The Senate Finance Committee, which has a more moderate makeup than Kennedy’s proposal and is considered Congress’ best hope for producing a bipartisan health care bill. Draft Wednesday has come and gone with no draft. Chairman, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Wednesday’s ‘D Day’ won’t happen but the bill would come out “when it’s ready”. The committee was supposed to start voting next week but looks as though that will be postponed. Cost estimate for the Finance Committee bill became public: $1.6 trillion. Senators quickly huddled on ways to bring down costs, with Baucus insisting the final price tag on his committee’s bill would be around $1 trillion. But he failed to mention that is only the estimated cost for 1/3 of the plans proposals.
Majority Democrats in the House hopes to complete their bill public this week. At this point that does not look realistic. It is still the committee’s intent to take votes after Congress returns from its July 4 recess.
Major cuts in Medicare and Medicaid will pay for some of the new costs but senators disagreed among themselves over whether to tax employer-provided health benefits something Obama campaigned against. A compromise was considered with Republicans on a new public insurance plan, which the GOP opposes. Obama says the country does not have any money so among the proposals to pay for nationalized health care would be a federal sales tax. Oops does that raise taxes all Americans?
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On the Net:
Senate Finance Committee: http://help.senate.gov/
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee: http://help.senate.gov/
