Obama Angles for Health Reform Votes; Medicare Expansion Likely Out
Dec. 15, 2009 – A proposed expansion of the federal Medicare health program likely will be nixed as President Barack Obama and U.S. Senate Democrats struggle to find the 60 votes needed to pass national health care reform legislation being debated.
The President today held a closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats to try to work out a compromise in order to get the President’s top domestic priority approved during a time when public opinion polls show his approval ratings continue to fall. The latest Rasmussen Reports poll indicated more people surveyed, 53 percent, disapprove the job done so far by President Obama versus 44 percent indicating their approval.
Already divided over the possible creation of a public health care plan, Senate Democrats were divided on a proposed expansion of the federal Medicare program. Some Senators last week proposed lowering the eligibility age from 65 to 55 for people choosing to “buy in” early to participate in the federal health care program for the elderly.
Senator Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut and former running mate of Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004, is among Senators whose vote is needed to approve any health care reform measures. But Lieberman has threatened to filibuster any measures creating a public health plan or expanding Medicare.
Without Lieberman, Senate Democrats do not have the votes necessary to pass legislation or end a filibuster. Other Senators, such as Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska, also have threatened to vote against health care reform. Nelson earlier introduced an amendment restricting federal funding of abortion procedures. The Senate defeated the amendment on a 55-45 vote and placed Nelson in a position of opposing a measure President Obama and most Democrat lawmakers badly want passed.
President Obama today said there is general agreement on health care reform, but Democrats apparently have not secured the 60 votes necessary to advance a health care reform measure. After joining other Democratic U.S. Senators in meeting with the President today, Sen. Dick Durbin (D–Illinois), said expanding Medicare likely would not emerge as part of Senate’s health care reform efforts.
Although Medicare expansion likely is out, several Senators have said a public health insurance plan administered by the government likely would be part of Senate reform efforts. The proposed plan would utilize private health insurance companies operating on a non-profit basis and regulated by the federal Office of Personnel Management, which administers the health insurance plans for Congress and federal employees.
Republicans remain united in their opposition to the proposals, citing some $500 billion in proposed cuts to Medicare funding, $400 billion in new taxes and increased health insurance premiums for American families among reasons for their opposition. Senate Democrats are trying to get their version of health care reform passed by the end of the year.
U.S. Senate Plans Saturday Night Vote on Health Care Debate
Nov. 20, 2009 – The U.S. Senate is scheduled to hold a rare Saturday night vote on whether or not to schedule debate on the Senate’s proposed national health overhaul plan seeking to expand health care coverage to 31 million people and levy at least 17 new taxes to cover the plan’s estimated $849 billion price tag over 10 years.
Although the plan would not take effect until 2014, Senate leaders want to schedule debate to begin Nov. 30. The 2,074-page overhaul of the $2.5 trillion per-year U.S. health care system would start a year later and cost an estimated $151 billion less than a version proposed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The House version would begin in 2013 with an estimated cost of more than $1 trillion over 10 years to expand coverage to an estimated 36 million people, according to the non-partisan federal Office of Management and Budget.
Among taxes proposed to pay for the Senate version of national health care reform is a “marriage penalty” levied on “families” earning at least $250,000 per year. Because the tax on individuals isn’t levied until their annual income levels reach at least $200,000 while married couples would be taxed on dual incomes of $250,000 or more, opponents have dubbed the proposed tax a “marriage penalty.” The “marriage penalty” would not be assessed unless both spouses earn at least $150,000 per year, but an unmarried couple living together and earning the same amount would not be taxed until their individual incomes reach at least $200,000 annually.
Other proposed taxes include a 5 percent tax on elective plastic surgeries – popularly called the “Botox tax” – and levying a 40 percent tax on individuals with “generous” health care plans. Whether such a tax would be levied only on benefits received as an employee or on any “generous” health care plan – whether purchased individually or through a group plan – is yet to be determined in the Senate’s more than 2,000-page version of national health care reform. The Senate plan also would increase the Medicare payroll tax on high-income employees.
The Senate’s proposal requires all American citizens purchase health insurance and creates regional insurance exchanges where individuals can shop for health insurance coverage tailored to more specific needs. People earning too little to afford health insurance would receive federal subsidies to purchase coverage.
The Senate bill also creates a federal health insurance option in which state legislatures would choose to participate and prevent health insurance companies from refusing coverage to individuals with pre-existing health problems.
Senate Democrats need 60 votes to advance the measure to a floor debate. But independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut – who sits with the Democratic Caucus – has said he would oppose the Senate version even though he likely would vote to allow the floor debate.
Lieberman, who was Democrat John Kerry’s running mate during the 2004 presidential election, opposes a public option as provided in the Senate bill and earlier announced he would filibuster the measure unless amended to remove the public plan proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada). Lieberman says a public option would drive up costs for people with health insurance. Reid contends states would have the option of whether or not to participate in the proposed federal health care option.
Because Democrats would need 60 votes to quell a potential filibuster, at least one Republican would have to vote to end any filibuster initiated by Lieberman. But no Republicans have voiced support for the plan proposed by Reid and are unified in their opposition thus far.
Any differences between the House and Senate bills would have to be worked out and approved by both chambers before President Barack Obama could sign a health care reform package into law.