All Republicans can do now to stop the passage of the health care legislation is by playing the delay game. Happy as can be the Democrats are already declaring victory and the American people are left wondering what happened and what everyone is celebrating.
By getting Senator Nelson, who was the 60th vote to sign on to the bill Democrats seems poised to meet the President’s Christmas Eve passage goal. That won’t complete the passage either because coming up next on Monday at 1:00 AM the most important vote occurs where the Democrats will have to show those 60 votes.
Republican Senators like Senator McConnell of Kentucky is calling the bill a legislative train wreck and points to the upcoming Medicare cuts as just a taste of the pain this bill will cause for millions of Americans. More importantly is the historic massive tax increases that will occur at the most vulnerable time of our nation’s economic history.
Still many advisers to the President are already pointing fingers at the Republicans for their blatant delay tactics.
Today the debate is set to continue in Washington. So where does this maneuvering leave us now?
Well besides the thorny abortion issue which seemed like it was going to derail the bill’s movement, the bill also covers health care surprisingly. Many American’s had thought the health care bill had been dropped in favor of another abortion debate.
However at the end of the day yesterday, in order to secure the 60th vote, the Democrats agreed to place a separation between taxpayers fund and health insurance premiums to pay for abortions. Additionally, each state would have the option of restricting abortion coverage.
But as this bill is about more significant items then abortion, the rest of the bill includes a promise to extend coverage to 30 million more Americans and also mandate that every American get health insurance. Other last minute provisions included a penalty on any health insurance company that tried to increase premiums in advance of the legislation being enacted.
Analysts from the Congressional Budget Office claim that the bill will decrease the deficit somehow by $132 billion over the next ten years, though many consider their math to be suspect.
At its core, the legislation would create a new insurance exchange where consumers could shop for affordable coverage that complied with new federal guidelines. Most Americans would be required to purchase insurance, with federal subsidies available to help defray the cost for lower and middle income individuals and families.
In a concession to Nelson and other moderates, the bill lacks a government-run insurance option of the type that House Democrats inserted into theirs. In a final defeat for liberals, a proposed Medicare expansion was also jettisoned in the past several days as Reid and the White House maneuvered for 60 votes.
Share this Post
