More Battles Lie Ahead As Health Reform Debate Swings Back To Senate

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 10 Nov 2009 - 4:00 PST

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The focus of the health care reform debate is expected to shift back to the Senate this week following the passage of the House reform bill (HR 3962) on Saturday, Politico reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) -- who is leading the effort to produce a final Senate bill -- is facing opposition from some Senate moderates, as well as growing pressure from some Democrats and White House officials anxious about the lengthening timeline (Budoff Brown/Raju, Politico, 11/8).

Divisions over abortion funding, which "almost derailed the House vote," are also expected to surface in the Senate, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, the House's slim 220-215 endorsement of its bill emphasizes the challenge ahead for Reid and other top Democratic senators, who also have yet to reach a consensus on the financing mechanisms of the bill and whether the package should include a government-run public insurance plan option (Adamy/Bendavid, Wall Street Journal, 11/9).

Reid suggested last week that floor debate on the Senate bill might not begin until after Thanksgiving and that the Congressional Budget Office's delay in providing the score report could push the reform debate into 2010. According to Politico, Reid is aware that "the clock was ticking" on his efforts to send a final bill to the floor, and the House action on Saturday "elevated the stakes" (Politico, 11/9). CBO's score report on the bill is expected by the end of this week (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/9).

On Sunday, Obama said he is "absolutely confident" that the Senate will pass the bill, adding, "I am equally convinced that on the day that we gather here at the White House, and I sign comprehensive health insurance reform legislation into law, they'll be able to join their House colleagues and say this was their finest moment in public service" (Lengell, Washington Times, 11/9).

Jim Manley, a spokesperson for Reid, said that the Senate could use the House vote as a gauge on how to address potential sticking points, including abortion coverage. Manley added, "Clearly it is going to give us momentum. But it does not signify any break in the logjam. It was always going to be close in the Senate, and nothing has changed" (Politico, 11/9). The Senate debate over abortion coverage "has been more muted" than in the House, but Manley acknowledged that the rancor would intensify. " The debate in the House highlighted some of these issues that we're going to have to face here in the Senate, and on this issue in particular, it's something (Reid) is going to have to talk with his caucus about" (MacGillis, Washington Post, 11/9).

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