Senate Finance Committee Health Reform Bill Produces Mixed Reactions

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 18 Sep 2009 - 3:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Reactions were mixed on Wednesday to Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus' (D-Mont.) release of his panel's health reform bill, the Washington Post reports. Although House Democratic leaders and some liberal groups were critical of the measure, some influential players -- particularly industry groups -- "held their firepower," according to the Post. The muted reaction from industry -- which has been highly critical of the House bills and another Senate bill -- is perhaps the "best evidence" that the Finance Committee bill has a positive future, according to the Post. In an attempt to quell attacks from interest groups, the Obama administration has agreed to several deals in which the health industry would make financial concessions in exchange for the prospect of new customers. The Baucus bill takes a similar approach (Connolly, Washington Post, 9/17).

House Democratic leaders said that although they are pleased to see the Senate moving forward, they feel that Baucus' plan makes too many conservative concessions. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement that the House reform bill (HR 3200) "clearly does more" than Baucus' bill "to make coverage affordable for more Americans." Pelosi also reiterated her support for a public health insurance plan option to provide competition with private insurers, a proposal that is not included in the Senate Finance Committee bill. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) said that he is "pleased to see movement, any movement out of the Senate," adding that "[w]e cannot do anything unless we have something come out of Senate." Rangel said his staff has been working to blend all three House health reform bills (Roth, CQ Today, 9/16).

Abortion Coverage Under Finance Committee Bill

The Senate Finance Committee bill would prohibit federal funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or endangerment to the woman's life, the AP/MSNBC reports. The bill would prevent abortion coverage from being included in a minimum benefits package in proposed health insurance "exchanges" where consumers could shop for coverage. The plans in the exchange could include offer abortion coverage as long as no government subsidies paid for it. Instead, abortion coverage would be funded through member premiums, which would be segregated from federal money (Werner/Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/MSNBC, 9/16).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

• Additional
• References
• Citations