Baucus Bill Passes Senate Finance Committee with Snowe on Board
posted by: Ann Pietrangelo 78 days ago
The Senate Finance Committee has approved the Baucus health care bill by a vote of 14-9.
Far from the end of the story, health care reform has reached a major turning point.
Until now, no Republican Senator has voted for any of the health care reform bills that have made their way through congressional committees this year. This time, Republican Olympia J. Snowe of Maine is on board, saying, "Is it all that it can be? Far from it. But when history calls, history calls." Her break from the party line, while expected, is welcome news. She was careful to add that she still opposes a government-run public option.
Now that the last of five congressional panels to work on health care legislation have cast their votes, the real work on how to combine the best of all the bills will begin. Never before has any attempt at comprehensive reform come so far.
Anticipating a Tuesday vote, the group America's Health Insurance Plans released a report claiming that the Baucus plan -- which includes individual mandates, but no public option -- will cause private health insurance premiums to rise by 111 percent over the next decade, but only by 79 percent without the reform bill. Either way, without a public option to keep insurers in check, we can expect premiums to rise exorbitantly.
Recently, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that the Baucus bill would actually reduce the national deficit by more than $80 billion over the next decade.
The insurance industry obviously has no intention of taking reform lying down, and hasn’t ruled out firing back with attack ads. We may have reached a turning point, but health care reform promises to remain an uphill -- and an ugly -- battle.
History is calling, and the challenge of a real bi-partisan effort at overhauling the nation’s health care system is upon us.
Read more: republicans, democrats, Baucus, health policy, health care reform, olympia snowe, public option
comments
I don't think Olympia Snowe deserves any kudos for voting on a bad bill that never should have gotten out of committee as it is written. It is nothing but a gift to the insurance companies and no help to the American people whatsoever. She says she doesn't believe in any kind of public option at all. What's the matter with her? She comes from a poor background and should have more empathy for low-income people who can't afford overpriced insurance. Maine is a relatively poor state, with a health insurance monopoly like most other states and many people without coverage. I hope they vote her out of office next election.
Why do the Dems keep pandering to these idiots and misfits in the Repub party? I'm sick of them all.
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What, I hear is, this bill is one, flawed bill. I understand, this bill was assisted, if not written by the insurance companies lobbyists. It discriminated against women, making women pay more than men. It has an anti-abortion cause, it reduces women's health care in reproduction, where pregnancy is a precondition. It taxes the middle class families and lower class families, it creates fines on small businesses. Where does a Congress person hail, such a flawed bill as Great! Question? How can any congress person sell this bill as an answer? Do the insurance companies have that much power? Where is justice? In the back pocket of a Congressman!
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All I can say is, thank goodness I am healthy and I wish it were contagious. I highly encourage the interbreeding of nationalities for the benefits of hybrid vigor. The more in the mix, the merrier. It's true; mutts live longer.
I am firmly holding out for a single payer health plan; it may happen sooner than later as the Republican party has lost its marbles.
I refuse to believe we'll be stuck with the current bill's ridiculous collection of non-ideas. Forcing people to buy health care? Couldn't be a stupider idea. The reason people don't is because they can't. Duh!
And, damn their eyes, our representatives should not allow drug companies to extort ruinous fees from people in desperate need of medication.
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Well, I am very disappointed she did not stand up FOR the people. By being bought out like that actually made sure she will not get re-eleected next term. With all the bills in the senate right now, and more important issues pending, she chose to 'buy out'. Being in the medical field as I am and also a private business owner, nothing Obama has promised has come to fruitation. All it has been is 'empty' promises. (which does not surprise me) I refuse to be manipulated by any goverment to be 'TOLD' I have to purchase this for my employees or be fined. Also, being told to hire more employees only to be taxed more? What a oxy-moron that one is.. I am a small woman-owned business and this set up in the White House is a disgrace to my beliefs as an American. I can hope for next year's election to be cleaned and new folks in the Senate/Congress to be actual reps for us.. the people and not for THEIR own pocket books.
Proud American,
Dorin :o)
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Thank You, Senator Snowe, for having the fortitude to stand up for the people of America! It makes me proud that the only republican to vote in the affirmative on this issue was a woman.
Olympia Snowe, we owe you a debt of gratitude!
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I agree, Joel.
Baucus has been nearly as much of an obstacle to citizen-focused reforms as has any Republican. I'm predisposed to being sceptical of anything Baucus would put forward, especially since it lacks a Public Option ... which itself is merely a bandaid solution -- at best; the currently-insured will be protected turf. (Thus, "Option" is for the most part, a misnomer. It's decidedly not an option, for most. And that's a best-case at this point. Really disheartening.)
The sad part is that with all the "govmint run" fear mongering, what we'll get is the same government-controlled (everything is regulated now .. from insurance to what drugs/procedures get appproved), only it'll be run with the needs of industry, not us, in mind. And we'll be even further from a citizen-focused solution ... with govmint-run, in its worst form, locked-in for decades.
Sorry; that sounds cynical ... because it is (and I am). We spend $3 Trillion now ... the most-costly on the planet by far, for sucky services, in comparison to countries who spend far less than we do. And I'll bet any amount you wish that it'll hit $4 Trillion long before we have even comparable quality compared to countries who spend less than half what we do.
But the cards are pretty-much dealt. And I doubt that even the Public Option is coming on the river card.
-cindy
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The real argument is what is the role of government. Considering the banking industry just collapsed under the weight of it's own greed. Healthcare is pricing itself out of the market because of its greed and manufacturing has collapsed thru its own inept bureaucratic management which was focused on today's greed and not tomorrows profit the answer is and always has been 'good regulation'. Regulation that provides opportunity while supporting societal needs like healthy neighborhoods.
Hind sight is 20/20. But! If government leadership, Presidential & Congressional, had not suffered from the same intellectual ineptitude spouting mantras like 'the market knows best' and 'we need to throw off the yoke of regulation' . And had done their job as 'Regulators' instead of letting industry lobbyists write the bills, the Banking sector would not have been able to steal our money so easily. The Health Insurance Industry wouldn't be based solely on profit instead of results and the auto manufactures would have cutting edge technology forced by mileage standards.
Capitalism runs best and fastest when good regulation, not over regulation or under regulation, sets the rules, everybody knows the rules and everyone operates within the rules. Then you have competition open to all. When the private sector runs the show you get a repeat of this last year. You want to repeat this again?....B
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Karl,
i agree with you but I will go further, we need to replace the insurance model, it is not working and it is part of the problem. The insurance model only works for the insurance companies. We need a new model for our health care system.
We have a model that works, medicare.
Right now there are two Representatives working to bring universal health care to all Americans, Rep Weiner and Rep Kucinich. Both have amendments to HR 3200.
The Weiner amendment would make medicare available to all american citizens and the Kucinich amendment does the following:
the Kucinich amendment mandates a single payer state will receive the right to waive the application of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which has in the past been used to nullify efforts to expand state or local government health care.
Under the Kucinich Amendment a state's application for a waiver from ERISA is granted automatically if the state has signed into law a single payer plan. With the amendment, for the first time, the state single payer health care option is shielded from an ERISA-based legal attack.
Universal health care not insurance!
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Our representatives are not representing us! They only see giant $$$ dollar signs. They are ignoring us for the money they will get from these greedy corporations and insurance make sure they have the most lucrative positions while portraying false concern for "We the People" and making sure we get nothing of real value. It remind them every time I write to them that we are watching really closely and they will no longer have a job in government when we next Vote. They are living by the rules that they have put into affect to benefit themselves and only themselves and we need to change the people that make the rules. Don't get me wrong there are a small handful that try to do right by us, Dennis Kucinich comes to mind.
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We seem intent on transfering all of our wealth to corporations and further enrich the wealthy. That is what this proposal from the senate does. On top of that to add insult to injury it will put a tax on some health plans that union workers receive. All this just to get one Republican vote. Our opportunity to have real reform such as a stron public option or an expansion of medicare was traded so Ms Snowe would vote for this plan and Obama could claim bi-partisanship. We did not need her vote to pass real reform. This is what happens when our representatives are only thinking of the next election and to their corporate donors. The american people have been thrown under the bus. We still have a chance at some meaningful reform when the house and senate begin their negotiations. I urge everyone to call, write or email them and demand a single payer plan to cover all americans.
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