Key GOPer: Health Care Reform Needs To Be Broken Down "Into Smaller Parts"

One of the three Republican Senators crafting an ostensibly bipartisan health care bill is now pushing for reform to be slowed down and considered in bits and pieces rather than one giant package.

Sen. Mike Enzi, (R-Wyo.), a member of the famed Gang of Six group of negotiators on the Senate Finance Committee, told a local crowd on Monday that he wanted an incremental health care overhaul.

"We do need to get it right. We need take the time to do it," Enzi told members of the Casper Rotary Club on Monday. "I think the only way it will happen is we need to break it down into smaller parts than we have now and put it through one at a time."

The push for patience and incrementalism comes as Senate Finance Committee has already missed a deadline for producing legislation and is watering down its bill in hopes of winning Republican support. Enzi, who plays a key role in determining what kind of final product comes out of that committee, also expressed support on Monday for a cooperative approach to insurance coverage rather than a government-run plan.

"That is something I am still pushing for," Enzi said. "Small business health plans are one way of increasing choices. Co-ops will increase choice."

The Wyoming Republican is hardly the only member of Congress pushing for health care to be tackled in a piecemeal approach. Over the past week, several major Democratic figures have begun making the case that the party should be willing to accept major compromises on key provisions.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn noted that when he argued for a more incremental approach several months ago, progressives responded with scorn. And yet he continues to believe that true health care reform will only be done in bits and pieces rather than one fell swoop.

"I learned a long time ago that what you have to do in this business is lay out your vision for how it ought to be done," said the South Carolina Democrat. "And if you are convinced that you are where you ought to be, you just don't back off from it... We are not going to, and I think it would be a mistake for any of us to think that we are going to get to where we want to be in five or ten years from now or in one time."

"If you go back and check, in 1964 we passed the Civil Rights Act. But they took voting out of it. If you recall Lyndon Johnson said, we ain't going to be able to do this if we put voting in it. And so they took the voting rights out. But a year later we got the Voting Rights Act. We got the Voting Rights Act in 1965. We didn't get the fair housing law till '68. So, my whole thing is, we have never done this...in one fell swoop. And I think that those who think [health care] is going to get done in one fell swoop -- and I don't mean to be parochial here -- they're whistling Dixie."

Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!

Comments

[BobSacomano]

I seriously think we will only get the following (unfortunately):

- Ability to buy insurance across state lines (with less regulation in place)
- Can't be turned down for pre-existing condition (although at much higher cost)
- Portability (although at a higher premium cost when you resign/get fired)
- Mandates to lifestyle enforced (penalties for diet choices, lack of exercise, and lack of medication compliance)
- Tort reform (limits to malpractice compensation)

There will be tax "incentives" to healthcare providers and hospitals that will be largely ignored.

[BobSacomano]

...or as Homer Simpson says......­...."never try".

[BobSacomano]

I get it, put it off until the Republicans gain the majority again, that will guarantee that healthcare reform never sees the light of day until the next Democratic majority (if that ever happens again in my lifetime).

[DXM]

Three words come to mind: Divide and conquer. This is just another obvious attempt by the GOP to dilute, delay and ultimately destroy health care reform.

[LemonMeringue]

Scrap HR 3200.

Just lower the age for Medicare to 0. It could be working by Christmas.

[avvocato]

Brilliant, *&^%$#@! Brilliant!

[Annieke]

In Dutch we have this proverb that says that if you postpone one thing in the end it will not happen at all.

I get the feeling that is the thing Enzi is counting on.

I hope the Dems just leave the GOP, make use of the majorities they got in the House and Senate and make their own bill. With some good party whip, a sense of loyalty from ALL Democrats and a stern Howard Dean and president Obama even the Blue Dogs would vote in favour.
After all, with all that pressure and still voting against: that would require a backbone.

Politicians and backbones.­..that will be the day!

[1murillo]

"Breaking" healthcare reform down is just another GOP way of delaying its No vote for anything presented. Enzi, like Kyl and Grassley are more interested in staying incumbent than they are in finding solutions to our healthcare problems.
Stein, your sentence about Democratic figures "making the case" to accept major compromises is poor analysis of what they said. You misconstrue what Clinton, Dean and Clyburn said. Plus, the first 2 aren't in office, they don't fit into your tortured "member of Congress pushing for health care to be tackled in a piecemeal approach."
Enzi's breakdown, Kyl's no GOP support for co-ops, and Grassley's, "fear this bill" are examples of 3 highly placed Republicans dismissing reform. They will always hide behind the, "I want reform, but it must be right" talking point that only goes so far.
This should have been a more thorough investigation into the various avenues the GOP is currently using to attack the reform plans.

[roudy]

I intended to make a point of personally attending, with several friends, a public meeting with Enzi so that he heard clearly how important real reform is, including a robust public option. However, looking at his schedule during August recess, he has ZERO public meetings scheduled. He does have a number of luncheons scheduled with Rotary clubs and chambers of commerce. They are by invitation only.

What a clown.

[ncmom54]

Bless your heart... ya look a bit befuddled.

Single Payer is simple, just go for it.

[emiliob6]

Single Payer would be a very easy solution, MEDICARE FOR ALL.

[Scrunch]

Conceptually Single-Payer sure looks simple.

Here's part of the problem:

If a Free Market worshiper was hungry, and was given the following options:
1) He could have his choice of one of six rocks,
2) He'd have no choice; he'd have to accept a ham sandwich,
he'd choose the six-rock option. He wouldn't even look at what was being offered in the "Eek eek, Socialism" option.

[emiliob6]

Free Market is good except when it comes to health care, free market health care will choose profit over your health all the time, did 22 years in Army, I will choose government run health care anytime over these HMO's who allowed Americans died so that they can make a profit. SINGLE PAYER SYSTEM IS THE WAY TO GO. by the way it's a fact that the VA Health Care and the Military are the best, did you ever wonder why all the politicians get treated at Walter Reed Hospital to include the President.

[cigi]

More "incremental fixes" by the Pubies. Do just enough to get by and say you did something. That is why this is such a mess. I worked for and went through the breakup of the Bell System...w­as it difficult and messy...ye­s, at times. Was it doable, yes it is 98% complete now and see, we all went on living, no one died and we made some progress in providing more competition in the Telecom industry. Change is difficult but to continue to do the same stupid things with healthcare as we have witnessed for the last twenty years, hoping there will be a different outcome, is a defenseless argument and a big bunch of Rethug bs. The Pubies can only "rush to war", where they send other people's sons and daughters to put their life on the line for their rash decisions to invade Iraq....oo­ps, no WMD, guess we screwed up here! Where is the all the outrage for the $12 BILLION that we are throwing down a stinken rathole every single month in the Middle East with no end in sight??? Pubies are the biggest hypocrites on the face of the earth!

[ncmom54]

co-signed & fanned

[rosiebond007]

Can't multi-task ???

Take a nap instead !!

[Marcospinelli]

A few months ago, I wrote that If Democrats could get away with forcing all Americans into for-profit insurance policies, they'd do it and insist that they got us universal health care.

That's exact what they're doing.

That's how Obama, Gibbs, Sibelius, Douglass, Pelosi are redefining 'public option'. It's a collection of methods that require everyone with a job to have insurance policies that are paid for in a variety of ways.

That's an important distinction -- "everyone with a job" -- Because in spite of the spin on 'economic recovery', we're actually about to tank really big time. The commercial real estate market is about to have its first wave of foreclosures, which will set off new job losses, followed by the second wave of home foreclosures, and this pattern will continue with wave after wave for a while.

There are going to be a whole lot more people without jobs losing their health insurance. It will be bad enough with those already out of work with no insurance, & those with insurance struggling with co-pays & cancelled insurance. But it's going to get much worse. There are so many different possibilities for what's going to go wrong (those working can't sustain payouts from social security & Medicare), but uppermost is that we need to take out the middleman making profits off of denying us health care: The insurance industry.

[Marcospinelli]

Yet even with single payer universal health care (the only way to get affordable good quality health care for everyone), there is room for the insurance industry. Single payer (Medicare for all) was always intended to be a two-tiered system, with insurance companies providing high-end 'boutique'­-services.

[tiredlady]

You yahoos have had sixty damn years to get this done. Stop the excuses. Throw out the thousand page conciliations to insurance and big pharma. Read HR676, vote FOR HR676, have President sign HR676, get ready for Christmas break. Just DO IT.

[ncmom54]

Bravo tired lady! fanned

[mommom]

For the bill to work properly and provide coverage to all while keeping costs down,it will need to be carefully constructed ,each part supporting the other,and implemented all at once. He is just trying to get a couple of small things passed,that without the rerst of the bill,will not reduce cost or will have some other problem,so that the Repugs can deride it.

[tangelan]

Why does it need to be broken down? You're not going to vote for it anyway.