WXOW News 19 La Crosse, WI – News, Weather and Sports |Moderates seek greater health care cost controls
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WASHINGTON (AP) - Two moderate senators who could be critical to passage of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul on Friday pushed for greater cost containment measures in the landmark legislation.
Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, scheduled a news conference Friday morning to unveil amendments to the sweeping bill aimed at holding down medical costs, and possibly making the legislation more palatable to them.
Both have voiced opposition to the bill as written, with Lieberman threatening to filibuster over a proposed new government insurance plan to compete with the private market.
There are 60 senators in the Democratic caucus - including Lieberman and another independent, Vermont's Bernie Sanders - precisely the number Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., needs to overcome Republican delaying tactics designed to kill the bill. Reid has no votes to spare and may need support from moderate Republicans such as Collins if he loses any members of his own caucus over contentious issues such as the government plan or abortion.
Senators on Friday debate proposed cuts to Medicare as a rare weekend session loomed with Reid determined to get the legislation passed before Christmas.
Behind the scenes Democrats were engaged in urgent talks to settle the government insurance plan issue, the most contentious controversy standing in the way of passage of the legislation. Liberals support the government plan but it's opposed by most Democratic moderates and conservatives.
"Our caucus is now in the process of negotiating with ourselves because we need all 60 of us to get this done," said moderate Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.
Landrieu is among those queasy about the government insurance option in the bill, even though it would be open to a relatively small number of people - mostly the uninsured and small businesses - and Reid included a provision that would allow states to opt out of it.
With the knowledge of Reid and the White House, Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., along with Democratic Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska and Mark Warner of Va., are taking the lead in crafting a compromise. The idea remains a work in progress, but the three presented the outlines Thursday evening in a private meeting with Landrieu, Lieberman and about a half-dozen other moderates.
As described by Carper and Begich, the compromise would put a nonprofit insurance option in place only in states that didn't meet certain criteria for affordability and access. Instead of being controlled by the government, the plan could be run by a nonprofit board, and any initial government startup money would be repaid.
Lieberman left the meeting early and said his position hadn't altered.
"Generally speaking, I didn't hear anything that changes my mind," Lieberman said.
Others were more optimistic.
"I've still got some concerns, but I am certainly pleased and proud that people are willing to work on it," said Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., who faces a difficult re-election next year.
After their meeting, some of the centrists met with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other liberals who support a government option.
Democrats also face a clash over abortion as Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., plans to offer an amendment with strict abortion restrictions that liberals say they can't accept.
Nelson's amendment probably will fail when it comes up early next week, but he has vowed to oppose the overall bill if his abortion language isn't included. If Nelson follows through on that threat, Democrats would need all their other 59 caucus members plus one Republican to secure final passage - making the need for a broadly acceptable compromise on the government insurance plan even more urgent.
Overall, the $1 trillion, 10-year legislation would require most Americans to purchase insurance and provide federal subsidies to lower and middle-income individuals and families to defray the cost. Insurance industry practices such as denying coverage because of pre-existing medical conditions would be barred.
Freshman Democrats including Warner, Begich and Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., were making plans to leave their stamp on the bill with a package of amendments designed to enact tougher cost controls on the medical system. The measures would require Medicare to enact more pay-for-performance instead of pay-for-service measures and broaden the scope of a new independent Medicare cost-cutting board, among other things, according to an outline obtained by The Associated Press.
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Associated Press writers David Espo and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
