Senate "Moderates" Delaying Health Care Bill With Demands

The Washington Post:

Moderate lawmakers are exerting their outsize influence in the divided Senate to secure changes to health-care reform legislation, potentially adding more delays to a bill that has already missed several announced deadlines.

Although they have yet to achieve the "gang" status accorded to previous centrist coalitions, a dozen or so moderate Democrats are emerging as pivotal to the fate of the health-care measure -- beginning with the procedural vote that Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) must win to launch the historic debate.

Read the whole story: The Washington Post

Comments

[Okieborn]

Money over Morality !!
Money wins !!

[rosiebond007]

Please remember that we did not vote for Snoweto run the country.

WE WON THE ELECTION - TELL THEM TO GET OUT OF THE WAY AND GO FOR IT.

DON'T PANDER TO THESE 'MODERATES' - THEY ARE THERE TO HINDER AND DELAY.

COME ON OBAMA - WE VOTED FOR YOU - GET THIS THING THROUGH ASAP - ABSOLUTELY NO EARMARKS - MAKE IT A CLEAN BILL.

[Tuckerndfw]

You seem to be confused.

The US is not a dictatorship. Repubs represent nearly half the American voters.

Perhaps you would be happier living in a third world dictatorship since you don't seem to support the US Constitution or representative gov't (aka "democracy").

Winning an election does not give anyone the right to ram his agenda down everyone else's throats. Regardless how much they consider ramming things down people's throats a "life style."

[jwredd]

I seem to recall GWB talking about his election as a mandate and pretty much ramming his "conservative" agenda down our throats. If it had turned out to be sound policy it wouldn't have been so bad but we all know how that turned out, don't we.

[Palito]

Does anyone remember when Hillary Clinton pushed for mandates during the primaries and Obama said he was against mandates, that he wanted to make insurance affordable

"Hillary wants to force you to buy insurance, even if you can't afford it" was the line repeated time and time again.

How things have changed. We're getting mandates to buy unaffordable insurance! The joke of public option that still survives in these bills is just a disgraceful cover up for politicians who will be voting to guarantee the perpetual profitability of a private industry on the back of the taxpayers.

Do they really think that people will say "thank you" when they are forced to buy expensive insurance that will still leave them at risk for bankruptcy or face a steep penalty ?

[Tuckerndfw]

Snake Oil Salesman Obama also went to great lengths to promote the idea lobbyists would have no influence over his administration.

Odd how he totally reversed himself after winning the election.

He changed his mind about mandates after making deals with lobbyists.

That has nothing to do with anything other than his own dishonesty & lack of character.

What Dems are laughingly calling health insurance reform reforms nothing, it is a windfall for insurance companies.

[motu]

yeaaa right.
ReNOplicans and sBlueBall Democrates (which are really left leaning ReNOplicans) have nothing to do with the state of the bill...

[Solja]

Some of the stuff in the healthcare bill right now can be pulled out and made into separate bills, as opposed to amendments. One that might pass would be a law that said insurance companies could not discriminate based on sex or age or preexisting condition. They could stand on it's own. Then do a lot of the other stuff in the bill the same way so we get something good out of this total mess that Congress has made of our health care reform efforts.

[ReedYoung]

Great idea! And if the spending portions are proposed on their own, then they only need 51 votes, including Joe the Biden's, to pass in the Senate under budget reconciliation rules.

Why do you think that Harry Reid hasn't thought of this yet?

[ReedYoung]

There is nothing "moderate" nor "centrist" about fighting against what 77% of your employers want, the option of public health insurance -- which means, by definition, anybody who wants it, and rightthehellnow. These polls have not asked about "triggers" and "opt-outs" and "only if you don't have some of the private insurance that caused this health care crisis" ffs.

[Countess]

Only in a right wing country could people like these be called centrists.

[KDog76A]

spoken like a true-leftwing radical.

if you read the bill and do the math, you should see that liberals aren't happy with it, conservatives aren't happy with it and the middle-class centrist majority in America doesn't like it either.

Then again, you probably don't really haven't researched the topic, you hear Healthcare Reform and assume it means "good" The Dems could call 99-cent cheeseburgers healthcare reform and you'd probably support it.

the only real lesson anyone needs to learn, it doesn't matter if its your party, candidate, or issue or if its the opposition's... NEVER TRUST THE GOVERNMENT.

[EbonBear]

In every single poll, large majorities support the public option. In other words: YOU LIE!

[ReedYoung]

Never trust a corporation.

[Solja]

Never trust a teabagger OR a Libertarian OR... and this one is key... a REPUBLICAN.

Now Git!

[ReedYoung]

It's not a wrong wing country, it's just wrong wing corporate media.

[drricklippin]

So Rep Alan Grayson's daily death count keeps rising as we delay?

My simple take-

"ANY NATION THAT PROFESSES TO BE KNOWN AS CIVIL OR MORAL SHOULD PROVIDE AT LEAST BASIC HEALTH CARE TO ALL OF IT'S CITIZENS"-ral

We in the US are way behind on this basic moral truism

Dr. Rick Lippin
Southampton,Pa

[KDog76A]

"ANY NATION THAT PROFESSES TO BE KNOWN AS CIVIL OR MORAL SHOULD PROVIDE AT LEAST BASIC HEALTH CARE TO ALL OF IT'S CITIZENS"-ral

wow, I guess there were no civil or moral nations 50 years ago...

I find it interesting you would consider North Korea to be a more civil or moral nation than the US, they have socialized medicine.

[EbonBear]

So does every single country in the industrialised world except the USA.

[Solja]

Then my argument would be that if North Korea, with all of it's faults, could provide basica healthcare for everyone in their country, why can't the US of A?

[jwredd]

Okay, here's your trigger- the insurance companies have ONE YEAR to make their insurance plans affordable to ALL Americans, with no conditions, caps or denials for pre-existing conditions.

If you can make that happen, then we're all good and the government can get busy with something else. If not, get the f k out of the way.

[KDog76A]

"get the f k out of the way." say jwredd, who didn't read the bill or the news about the bill that says that the "public option" available through the government will cost 125% as much as a private policy with the sam coverage... essentially saying the government provided healthcare will be LESS AFFORDABLE than private healthcare.

jwredd also missed the fact the in 1990 pages, the house bill does not mention once how it actually plans on reducing healthcare costs... there is no legislation to bring down costs at all, only the promise of reform...

[ReedYoung]

No good. Public option now, and for anybody who wants. Want to ditch your private insurance? That's your choice. You should be able to switch to the public option if you prefer. Governments guarantee corporate profits in fascist societies.

[jwredd]

I'm trying to point out that the trigger is completely bogus and totally disingenuous. If it was a viable plan then the demands I gave would not be unreasonable. Get it? The insurance companies could never accomplish that which means anyone suggesting a trigger believes that the status quo is just fine.

[Ennis]

These people will not vote for Health Care for the people, but they will vote for war.

[KDog76A]

yawn

[ReedYoung]

War is a bore.

http://www.warisboring.com/

So is KDog76A, btw.

[Paisano]

Memo to Olympia... Go F#*k yourself!

[Diplomacy]

Put that finger down, "Princess" Snowe".

Cause millions of fingers are going to be pointing at YOU, BEN NELSON, JOE LIEBERMAN, BILL NELSON, TOM CARPER, KENT CONRAD, & JOE LIEBERMAN in 2012.

And, millions will be pointing at ALL REPUBLICANS up for re-election who are BLOCKING the "People's Business". Get something done!

Millions of fingers are going to be pointing at EVAN BAYH, BLANCHE LINCOLN, and ALL INCUMBENT REPULBLICANS in 2010, those who REFUSE to do the "People's Business".

There's Health Care Reform, Green Jobs & Energy Legislation, and the ECONOMY to FIX. Get on with the jobs you were ALL elected to do.

INCUMBENTS WE'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER! Just ask JOHN CORZINE today!

[Deschris]

Does this lady have any kids,grand children,relatives or FRIENDS(outside of the lobbyists). What is so wrong in having every American receiving decent affordable health care to save their and their families' lives. Maybe not she looks like a witch.

[KDog76A]

Deschris says: "What is so wrong in having every American receiving decent affordable health care to save their and their families' lives?"

the answer is nothing is wrong with that...

what you don't get is that
a) the current legislation does nothing to make healthcare affordable (no regulations are in place to cut costs in these bills)
b) a public option as it is written in the current bills actually COSTS MORE THAN PRIVATE INSURANCE
c) even if 35 million uninsured were to get insurance through the government, how does the government pay for it?
d) would you want a government-controlled health plan if Bush were president, and Republicans were in charge of the benefits?

I just wanted to point out how narrow of a view you have on the topic. Nobody's out to prevent your babies from having healthcare. Its just a matter of coming up with something that works.

[ReedYoung]

"a public option as it is written in the current bills actually COSTS MORE THAN PRIVATE INSURANCE"

Source?

[vjones26]

Senator Reid should go to reconciliation now. Senators Nelson, Landrieu, Bayh and Lieberman are just going to continue to gut the health care bill.

Delaying just hurts the chances to have real health care reform.

Progressives should start demanding reconciliation now.

Democrats will lose big next year without a strong health care law.

[KDog76A]

Reconciliation won't work because so much of the bill is non-budgetary...

"Any one Senator (presumably a Republican who opposes the bill) can surgically use the Byrd rule to remove sections of the bill. Senator Reid will need 60 votes to defeat each of these attempts, and there could be a lot of them. If Reid’s coalition is shy of 60 votes, the bill could end up being Swiss cheese by the end of the process and before Senate passage. The reconciliation bill that passes the Senate could contain enormous gaps from provisions stricken by skillful use of the Byrd rule."

http://keithhennessey.com/2009/08/05/reconciliation-part-2/

reconciliation only applies to budget bills, so only the portions of the healthcare reform bill that involve spending (or spending cuts) will pass. A single senator can take out anything that doesn't involve money. 60 votes are needed to keep anything a senator decides to have stricken.

reconciliation= fail

[ReedYoung]

Then, do you think that Republicans will vote against the other provisions in the bill, if those are separated from whatever public option is proposed under budget reconciliation rules? Would even southern Republicans stand a chance of re-election if they voted "no" on laws against last-minute "recision" of "health care" policies that have been paid faithfully, based on information that was on the initial application for "insurance"? And who are you imagining would ever vote for a Senator who voted that corporate profits are so much more important than human lives that any pre-existing condition is sufficient grounds to deny health care, and the government may not do anything to help anybody that "health insurance" corporations deem unprofitable?

[ReedYoung]

"Senator Reid should go to reconciliation now."

Yes. That will be the only way to get health care reform worth adamn through this Congress. Probably also true for climate change legislation. Conservatives lost. We don't need to listen to them pout in the name of "bipartisanship" any more, because we just don't need them. They have 19% of the country on their side. Let them whine while we govern.

[TeeLolly]

Obama could have gotten a good bill through had he produced a strong plan from the outset and not caved to his overly simplistic notion of "bipartisanship," tossing out the best alternatives before negotiations with Rethugs began. If the ultimate Senate bill is just a giveaway to insurers, they'd be better off scrapping it rather than forcing millions of Americans to support the multimillion-dollar executive compensation and anti-consumer lobbyists that are a component of every dollar paid to private insurers. With just a couple of those centrists, "Medicare for all" could make it through in a budget reconciliation bill, and we'd have real reform.

A bad bill will preclude a decent healthcare policy for decades. It will enable us to blithely overlook the millions still being turned down upon seeking treatment (as with "No Child Left Behind" in the education context). No bill will keep the focus on our broken system and hopefully, when we have true leaders in the White House and Congress, we'll get something that actually benefits the people.

[Akat1973]

I am tired of snowes threats and she can just go away!What about all of the millions of people who need insurance? What about these pre exsisting conditions(especially) attatched to women? former spousal abuse,former sexual abuse,C sections? I am tired of all of these people being blinded from truth by money from the insurance industries. I am tired of women holding other women down and the gop party as well. My great great grandmother did not march for the right for women to vote to have my generation(and my daughters) treated as if we were back in the old days. I realize thats what the far right wants for us all, but guess what we want equality and we wont back down!