Health Insurance Quote Reform Weekly EasyToInsureME

Sept. 25, 2009

This Week in Health Care Reform

This
week's health care reform debate focused on the long-awaited health
care reform legislation proposed by Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max
Baucus (D-MT).

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Senate Negotiations

Introduced
last week, Sen. Baucus's Finance Committee bill has faced criticisms
from both sides of the aisle, resulting in 564 proposed amendments to
the legislation. On Tuesday, to address some of the concerns outlined
in those amendments, Sen. Baucus suggested changes to the bill that
would further increase regulation of insurance companies, expand
consumer protections and increase subsidies to help people buy
insurance. In an effort to appease Republicans, he also exempted
consumer items of $100 or less - items ranging from Q-tips to contact
lenses - from a proposed tax on medical device manufacturers. As the
week progressed, clear partisan battle lines emerged as Senate
Democrats and Republicans debated controversial proposals, such as
changes to Medicare .

As the Finance Committee continues the
mark-up process and votes on amendments, Sen. Baucus will attempt to
keep the 13 Finance Committee Democrats on board. He will have to
achieve this without moving so far left politically that he loses the
support of key Republicans, including Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the
only Republican of the 10 who sit on the Finance Committee seen as
likely to vote for the bill.

Outside of the committee, Sen.
Snowe has become a pivotal figure in bipartisan negotiations for reform
as Democrats seek the 60 votes in the Senate required to pass the
legislation. Other reports suggest that the Finance Committee bill also
has the backing of Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), another key swing
senator.

Public Plan

President Obama Conducts Media
Blitz: On Sunday, President Obama advocated for health care form
legislation in back-to-back broadcasts of taped interviews on five
morning news shows (ABC's "This Week," NBC's "Meet the Press," CBS's
"Face the Nation," CNN's "State of the Union" and Spanish-language
Univision's "Al Punto"). While admitting to being "humbled" by the
challenge of reform, he called for a more civil tone in the debate.

Going
into the Sunday interviews, a Siegel+Gale poll showed that, following
President Obama's televised address to a joint session of Congress
earlier this month, only 36.9% of Americans said they understood the
President's reform plan. Of those who actually watched the President's
address to Congress, 57.9% claimed to understand his platform.

Democrats
Woo Seniors: White House officials and Democrats have focused on
convincing skeptical seniors to support the administration's reform
legislation. On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden visited a
retirement community in Maryland to deliver the Democratic health care
reform message and to reassure seniors that they will not see cuts in
their Medicare coverage.

Additional Activities

First Lady
Enters Health Care Debate: Working to galvanize women around health
care reform, First Lady Michelle Obama jumped into the debate last week
at a meeting of the newly formed White House Council on Women and
Girls. Michelle Obama urged women to mobilize behind the President's
plan. Meeting attendees included members of the Business and
Professional Women, the YWCA, the Women's Chamber of Commerce and the
National Council of Negro Women.

President Obama Speeds Up Tort
Reform: Last Thursday, President Obama sought to ease tensions this
week among physicians whose concerns over malpractice costs and
Medicare reimbursement were modestly addressed in the Finance Committee
bill. The President moved to accelerate a $25 million grant program
aimed at addressing medical malpractice lawsuits.

Looking Ahead

Sen.
Baucus plans to steer his health care reform bill through the Finance
Committee by the end of the week. Once the Finance Committee votes and
approves the bill, Senate leaders will then combine it with another
bill approved by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in
July.

A similar process is also occurring in the House with
bills passed by three committees: Energy and Commerce; Education and
Labor, and Ways and Means. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has
indicated that she hopes to have a single, final version of the House
bill by the end of next week.

White House Budget Director Peter
Orszag anticipates completion of health care legislation by
mid-November. He also believes that the final version will be largely
based on the Senate Finance Committee bill.