Half A Loaf

Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled the merged health care reform bill. The measure comes just days after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced his reform bill. The bill was met with criticism from both the left and right.

The bill would create a public option, but unlike the Senate version, it would not include an "opt-out" provision for states. The bill would also raise Medicaid eligibility to 150% of the poverty line, compared to 133% in the Senate version. Both bills would end discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, and end lifetime and yearly caps on benefits. Many liberals in the house, however, feel as though the public option is not strong enough. Instead of pegging reimbursement rates to Medicare plus 5%, the bill would allow the government to negotiate with providers for lower rates, meaning that tax-payers may get a worse deal and the insured may have variable fees from state to state or doctor to doctor. The plan would be paid for by raising taxes on individuals who make more than $500k a year and companies with payrolls of $750k a year who do not provide health insurance to their employees.

Perhaps most upset today is Congressman Anthony Wiener (D-NY), who is a major advocate of single-payer. According to sources, Wiener was promised that the House would bring a single payer bill to the floor for an up-or-down vote. Not only would this get members on record with regard to their position on single-payer, but, more importantly, would require the Congressional Budget Office to score the bill. Since national single payer would be much more cost effective, such an action might have dramatically shifted the balance of the debate this fall, and perhaps for years to come. The fact that Nancy Pelosi is not willing to take this step says much about her commitment to universal coverage. What has our national debate come to when congressional leaders are not even willing to get the facts on legislation that they say they support?

It certainly looks as though health reform is going to pass, despite the claims of Senator Lieberman. The only question is, "In what form?" Today, proponents of a robust public option were handed another setback, but just like in the past, this bill is only the beginning. If this country really is at the start of a liberal renaissance, then this will not be the final health care bill, because it does very little to control cost. Hopefully, this will at least get coverage for the 45 million Americans that don't have it, and then we can improve this legislation to bring a true government-run bill to all Americans,