Affordable Health Insurance Reform Slows Down
Posted: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
by Yamileth Medina
VitalOne Health
Moderate Democrats are putting the brakes on healthcare reform. One of the current proposals for moving forward after the party lost the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in Massachusetts is a risky political calculation. Budget reconciliation would require just 51 votes, and would allow the House of Representatives to have input on tax- and spending-related issues, such as family individual health insurance subsidies. However, an increasing number of legislators fear that doing so will give the impression of steamrolling over the will of the people. In a mid-term election, leaving constituents with that perception is disasterous.While reconciliation has the potential to eliminate the special deals that exclude Louisiana and Nebraska from having to pay their share of Medicaid funding, some Democrats who were turned off by that horse-trading process would not be amenable to yet more political wrangling. Senators Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Evan Bayh of Indiana, for their parts, have announced that they would not support that course of action.
Their states lean conservative, and both Bayh and Lincoln are up for re-election in November. Obviously, their seats are already at risk. Although they support healthcare reform, manuvering around the need for 60 votes is one bridge too far. They would prefer that the Obama administration pauses their efforts on the issue until tempers across the spectrum cool down. Most likely, they would prefer a new, scaled-back bill with the potential for gaining some Republican support.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently said that there is "no rush" to pass healthcare reform, and it is unlikely that President Obama will give a specific timetable in his speech. That is a change from previous administration deadlines, such as the Senate passing a bill before Christmas. He will probably continue to push for comprehensive affordable health insurance legislation, but devote more of his time towards the economy and other issues.
If Democrats in Congress agree to budget reconciliation in order to pass individual health insurance reform, the minority party will express yet more anger towards them. Understandably, Republicans will be even less open to bipartisanship if their views are circumvented. The question for the Obama administration, as well as leaders in Congress, is whether passing legislation to avoid a year of effort coming to naught is worth throwing away cooperation on other problems facing the nation. Both parties will dig in their heels even further if that occurs.
(Image: TheTruthAbout under CC 2.0)
Yamileth Medina is an up and coming expert on affordable health insurance and Healthcare Reform. She aims to help people realize that they can find quality individual health insurance right now. Yamileth lives in Miami, FL.
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