House Leaders 'Tantalizingly Close' To Finalizing Bill - But Work Still Remains

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As House leaders prepare to advance their version of health reforms to the the floor, negotiations continue behind the scenes. Roll Call reports that "[h]ouse Democrats feel that they are tantalizingly close to finalizing their bill - with a goal of sending it to the Congressional Budget Office this week. But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) warned it will be at least a few more weeks before a bill comes to the floor." One reason is that many members wanted "to see what emerged from the Senate Finance Committee before making commitments." Others noted that the White House has "refused to get its hands dirty" even after the President's joint address to Congress." All the while, Democrats have struggled to meet competing goals advanced by Obama, who wants the bill's cost to be about $900 billion over 10 years. Others are asking for specifics regarding the specifics of the public insurance option (Dennis, 10/5).

The House reform bill could include raised taxes, a point of contention for even the more liberal chamber, The Hill reports. "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fellow House Democratic leaders next week are expected to wade into the treacherous waters of how to pay for the House healthcare bill as they continue to negotiate the shape of the bill behind closed doors." Even after many hours of meetings within the caucus, issues remain outstanding. "But the tax question could be even more divisive within the Democratic Caucus, pitting union allies against business-minded centrists who believe that a tax-the-rich strategy will backfire by hitting small business" (Soraghan, 10/3).

This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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