Senate Finance Committee Adopts Health Care Plan Moving the Bill Closer to the Next Hurdle—Senate Floor Vote

Ending the suspense regarding not only Republican committee member support but also some Democratic member support, the Senate Finance Committee adopted Chairman Baucus’ health reform plan with all Democrats and Senator Snowe (R-ME) voting 14 to 9 to pass it out of committee. Type The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has said that the plan is estimated to cost $829 billion over ten years, is fully paid for, and would reduce the federal deficit by $81 billion over the first ten years. The committee’s action this week—the last of five committees to adopt health care reform—brought a “bump” in chances for and “renewed” enthusiasm for health care overhaul this year. The next steps involved some delicate “high-wire” balancing in order to gain sufficient votes to pass a bill on the Senate floor—even before a joint Senate and House final bill can emerge. The Senate Finance plan is different in key areas from the Senate HELP Committee and House health reform bills—the latter two of which include creation of public health options and an employer health care mandate. Senator Burris (D-IL) has reiterated again this week that he will not vote for a health reform bill that does not include a public health option—reducing the possibility of passage relying solely on the 60 votes of all Democrats and two Independents.

Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) began immediately on Wednesday working with Senator Baucus, Senator Dodd (D-CT) who chaired the HELP Committee during its work on a health care reform bill earlier this year while Chairman Kennedy (D-MA) was ill, Director of the White House Office of Health Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle, and President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel Health to meld the Finance and HELP bills together in order to bring a single bill to the Senate floor. The Finance plan does not include 1) creation of a public health option (contained in both HELP and House versions) or 2) employer mandate (although it places a penalty on employers who don’t provide health care for each employee that obtains coverage through a Health Exchange) but does include an individual mandate with higher penalties than the House wants. The Finance “plan,” unlike the HELP bill, is in plain text and not in legislative language format. Once the melding of the two bills take place, then a final bill will be written in legislative language and costs will be rescored by CBO. The Senate Democratic leaders will be challenged with bringing a bill forward to the Senate floor that strikes the right balance to gain the necessary 60 votes to end a filibuster. Many amendments are expected to be offered on the Senate floor, including Senate Finance Democrats Rockefeller (WV), Schumer (NY), and Wyden (OR) push for creation of a public option. While Republicans are also expected to bring forth amendments on the floor—tort reform, reduction in individual penalties—such changes if accepted are unlikely to Republican votes. The challenge will be in crafting a Senate bill that does not alienate moderate Democrats in the Senate and may yet attract Senator Snowe and/or a few other Republicans.