Latest News

October 21, 2009

Baucus Introduces Senate Finance Health Reform Legislation

The 14-9 vote in the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday in favor of the healthcare bill sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) is being treated by the media as a major milestone toward the enactment of the President's healthcare reform plans. The story led all three network newscasts last night and made front-page headlines across the country. Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), who crossed party lines to support the Baucus plan, is receiving much praise for her vote.

October 14, 2009

Senate Finance Committee Votes to Pass Health Reform Bill

October 8, 2009

CBO Finds Baucus Bill Would Reduce Deficit

In what media reports are casting as a significant boost to the healthcare reform bill authored by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that the measure would aid the federal government's beleaguered finances. Two network newscasts mentioned the story Wednesday. The AP (10/8, Espo) notes that the "preliminary estimate trumpeted by the White House" and is "likely to power the measure past a major hurdle within days." The analysis found that "the legislation would reduce federal deficits by $81 billion over a decade and probably lead to 'continued reductions in federal' red ink in the years beyond."

October 7, 2009

Senate Finance Committee Delays Vote on Healthcare Bill for CBO Score

Bloomberg News (10/7, Litvan, Jensen) reports that concerns "about the federal budget deficit may thwart efforts by Senate Democrats to pass legislation this month calling for the biggest expansion of the US healthcare system since Medicare's creation in 1965." The Senate Finance Committee, "which had planned to approve its version of a healthcare bill as early as [Tuesday], scrapped a vote to give the Congressional Budget Office time to complete a cost assessment." The delay "threatens to dash plans by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to start debate in the full Senate next week after combining the measure with one from the chamber's health committee."

October 2, 2009

Senate Finance Committee Completes Markup of Health Reform Bill

The New York Times reports, "After a marathon session that ran well past midnight, the Senate Finance Committee on Friday passed a major milestone in its work on legislation to remake the healthcare system and provide coverage to millions of the uninsured." The committee finished the last of the amendments at 2:15 am, and "plans to take a final vote on the legislation next week, after getting a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office."

September 23, 2009

Senate Finance Committee Begins Markup of America's Healthy Future Act of 2009

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus' (D-MT) America's Healthy Future Act of 2009 is a considerably more balanced reform proposal than H.R. 3200 or the Senate HELP Committee's bill but there are still provisions that many believe need to be changed. All told, there are some 564 amendments that were filed to the legislation covering issues large and small.

Senator Baucus has an large task ahead, hoping to keep his 13 Democrasts support while not moving to far left that he alinates Senator Snowe (R-ME)who is the only hope for a Republican vote in the Senate. With Senator Snowe's vote, Baucus can hit the needed 60 votes to pass the bill in the Senate.

September 16, 2009

Senate Finance Committee Releases America's Healthy Future Act of 2009

This morning Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) released the details of an $774 billion health care reform proposal that would expand Medicaid coverage and establish consumer-owned insurance cooperatives in lieu of a government-run public insurance plan.

The text of the conceptual language of America's Healthy Future Act of 2009 can be accessed here

In addition, a preliminary revenue analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation can be accessed here, and a cost estimate by the Congressional Budget Office can be accessed here.

The Committee is tentatively scheduled to mark up the legislation on September 22.

September 8, 2009

Obama to Address Joint Session of Congress on September 9

President Barack Obama will address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Sept. 9, in an attempt to resuscitate a health care reform effort that has seen waning public support over the August recess.

Only twice in the past 16 years has a president addressed Congress on a single topic: Clinton in 1993 on his health care plan and George W. Bush after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

According to talking points being circulated in the Senate by the White House, at least some of the president's message will remain the same: President Obama will frame the health care debate as one that pits those who want to improve the system against those who support the status quo.

Another bullet point reads: "After this speech, opponents of health reform will either need to propose their own plan, or explain why they think it's best to do nothing while premiums crush American families and thousands lose their coverage every day."

Obama is expected to use the speech to more specifically define his principles for reform. However, it remains unclear if he will throw down the gauntlet on some of the more contentious issues that have divided Congress, including whether an overhaul should include a government-run public insurance plan to compete with a reformed private insurance market.

White House advisors are telegraphing that the president is likely to downplay the significance of recent town hall meetings across the country in which some members encountered angry crowds and protests, and emphasize the progress that has been achieved to date.

Republicans believe the choice must be to "hit the reset button," in the words of House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) after polls in August showed a drop in support for both the president and his plan.

August 1, 2009

Legislative Action in the House of Representatives

It was quite a busy week for health care reform negotiations in Washington. After a week of intense talks between the House Democratic leadership and the conservative Blue Dog Democrats Coalition, a deal appears to have been struck between the two groups of Democrats, and the Energy & Commerce Committee is expected to report a bill out of Committee with unified Democratic support on July 31. The bill will include what is being billed as the "Unity Amendment," which includes concessions from both sides of the Caucus.

The other two committees of jurisdiction, the Ways & Means Committee and the Education and Labor Committees finished their versions of H.R. 3200 two weeks ago, and the initial goal was to report the measure out of Energy & Commerce last week and pass the entire measure on the House floor this week. However, the dispute with the Blue Dogs delayed the Energy & Commerce Committee mark-up, and now the House floor vote is delayed until Congress reconvenes in September.

The fate of H.R. 3200 and the efforts of the Blue Dogs when the three committee bills are merged together still remain under debate. There is some concern that agreements made with the Blue Dogs in the Energy & Commerce Committee will not be honored when the bill reaches the House Rules Committee in September. Over 57 progressive Democrats have signed a letter stating that they will not support earlier concessions promised to the Blue Dogs if they are brought the House floor, and Speaker Pelosi has indicated her support for the Progressive Caucus. The deal struck today is intended to alleviate this concern, but in reality the political climate after the August recess will have much to do with how the bills are "married" together as well.

Senate Finance Committee Will Not Mark Up Bill Until September

Over in the Senate, the bipartisan negotiation between Republican Senators Enzi, Grassley and Snowe and Committee Democrats has slowed, and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) announced on July 30 that the committee will not be able to mark up their version of health care reform legislation before the Senate adjourns for its August recess on August 7. The Finance Committee legislation, which is still being drafted, may not even be available for public release before the Senate adjourns next week. This delay, particularly when coupled with the deal reached in the Energy & Commerce Committee, raises the question of how long the Democrats will continue to allow the bipartisan negotiations to continue.

Brining Health Care Messaging to the Public Will be the Focus of the August Congressional Recess

With the August congressional recess set to begin, it is clear that Republicans and Democrats alike view the recess as the high water mark for health care reform. Sliding personal poll numbers for President Obama are a factor, as is a decline in public support for Democratic health care efforts. A Pew Research Center poll released Thursday that found that 44 percent oppose "health care plans currently before Congress," while just 38 percent favor the plans. In a NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll, 42 percent now say that the president's plan is a bad idea, a 10-point increase since last month.

Republicans and some conservative Democrats are interpreting those declining numbers as lack of public support for overwhelming change. Instead, they believe that the public favors more deliberative and targeted reform, perhaps on an incremental basis. Their strategy for the August recess is mammoth public education on the realities of a government-run public plan option and other costly and intrusive elements of the Democratic bills, as well as the need to "get health reform right."

But Democratic leaders are interpreting these polls as only a failure of messaging, and plan to ramp up their campaign efforts into as high as gear as possible during the August recess. Their focus seems to be on targeting insurance companies as the villains, beginning with a pronouncement from House Speaker Pelosi earlier in the week. "It's almost immoral what they are doing," she told reporters. "They are the villains. They have been part of the problem in a major way."

They also want to use the time clear up what they view as public misconception about their work. This week House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), conceded that Democrats have much ground to make up in August and need to focus on how their ideas would benefit the public if the party is to succeed on health reform. "We're responsible for putting together a plan, and so we've been focused on that," he said. "Republicans have been somewhat free to conjure up whatever they want."

Grassroots Call to Action: Make Sure Health Reform is Done Right

Health reform is needed, but it needs to be both affordable and responsible, and it also should be crafted in a bipartisan way. This measure is the most consequential to be considered by Congress in decades-it will impact all citizens and change the scope of one-sixth of our nation's economy. It's crucial that we don't let our congressional leaders rush to judgment on this measure. Instead, we need to urge them to spend August discussing the bill with their constituents, and then make changes to their bills when they reconvene in September to reflect the will of American employers and health care consumers. Click here to send a message to your legislators to let them know that you would like them to take the time to craft bipartisan comprehensive health care reform that will work for all Americans. Also, consider joining this coalition of concerned Americans dedicated to "getting health care reform right!"

July 20, 2008

Legislative Action in the House of Representatives

On Tuesday, July 14, the three House committees of jurisdiction - Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means and Education & Labor - released a revised version of their tri-committee bill for health care reform. The Congressional Budget Office is reporting that the cost of the bill would be $1 trillion over the first 10 years and would increase taxes or fines on employers by $208 billion over the first 10 years and would reduce the number of uninsured by 37 million.

The three committees are holding mark-ups to amend and revise the bill over the next few days in hope of completing the bill before the August recess. The Committee on Ways & Means held a one day mark-up and passed the America's Affordable Choices Act with a vote of 23-18 at approximately 2 a.m. on July 17. Three Democrats joined with all of the GOP members on the committee to stand in opposition to the measure. The Committee on Education & Labor voted 26-22 to approve the bill on the morning of July 17 and, again, three Democrats joined with all committee Republicans to oppose the bill. Finally, the Energy & Commerce Committee has a three-day mark-up planned that will carry through till next week.

The legislation currently contains a government-run public plan option, an oppressive employer mandate, a national exchange and a 5.4% income tax surcharge on wealthier Americans and small businesses, among other provisions. A chart comparing this measure with the legislation passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on July 15 can be viewed here: http://www.cahc.net/documents/side-by-side%20short%20summary.pdf

The Republican Conference stands in unified opposition to the bill and many rank-and-file House Democrats have expressed serious concerns with the proposed measure as well. The Blue Dog Coalition and other conservative Democrats, combined with the Republicans, hold enough seats on the Energy & Commerce Committee to defeat the bill as it stands, and they have promised to do so unless significant improvements are made to the measure. Since the bill has passed a committee of jurisdiction, Speaker Nancy Pelosi could bring it to the House floor for a vote without passage in the Energy & Commerce Committee, but only at the expense of offending a large number of moderate Democrats. Arkansas Representative Mike Ross, leader of the Blue Dogs 52-member coalition, indicated his willingness to stall the measure on the floor as well, saying, "There's no way [party leaders] can pass the current bill on the House floor unless they make major changes."

Senate HELP Passes Legislation as Senate Finance Negotiations Continue

The Senate HELP Committee reported the Affordable Heath Care Choices Act out of committee on July 15 on a partisan vote of 14-11. The bill includes a government-run public health plan, a mandate that employers provide employees and dependents with certain levels of health benefits and pay for a significant portion of their premiums, and many other excessive and costly provisions. However, the committee did make numerous improvements to the bill over the course of its mark-up process, including improvements to employer wellness programs and market reforms to help individuals and small businesses access coverage. The next step will be for this legislation to merge with the bill being drafted by the Senate Finance Committee for an eventual vote on the Senate floor.

The Senate Finance Committee, the only committee of jurisdiction in either chamber to be working on a truly bipartisan basis, continues to work on drafting its legislation. On July 16, bipartisan negotiators indicated that their bill may be ready early next week and that they will not rush through their bill, despite intense pressure from both President Obama and congressional leadership to finish the bill and pass something on the Senate floor before the August 7 recess. The bill was originally expected last week, then predicted to be released today, and President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Reid have pressed for a bill as soon as possible. But Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus stated, "I have the deepest respect for the president. I also want to make sure the product we come up with is good, is solid and is thought through. In addition, I fully believe it must be bipartisan. It must be bipartisan to get 60 votes."

"My job is to do what's right," Baucus continued. "I think we're all progressing on a path which will produce a very good result, which will more likely mean that we're going to get a very solid health care reform bill passed, and on the president's desk, this year."

Call to Action: Make Sure Health Reform is Done Right

Many Democratic leaders in Congress and the Obama Administration are pressing hard to pass a health care reform bill on the floor of each chamber before the start of the August recess. Reform is needed, but it needs to be affordable and responsible, and it should be crafted in a bipartisan way. This measure is the most consequential to be considered by Congress in decades-it will impact all citizens and change the scope of one-sixth of our nation's economy. It's crucial that we don't let our congressional leaders rush to judgment on this measure. Instead, we need to urge them to spend August discussing the bill with their constituents before a vote. Click here to send a message to your senators on this issue, as well as to the members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, which is the only committee in the House that is being at all deliberative in this process.

**Resources for these news updates provided by National Association of Health Underwriters.
Please visit www.nahu.org to learn more.