Marisa McNee reported this earlier, but if this doesn’t fall under the heading, "pigs fly!" then it seems pretty important.
From Roll Call, it appears the idea of a robust national public health insurance option just got a major, unexpected boost:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday ordered Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to drop a proposal to tax health benefits and stop chasing Republican votes on a massive health care reform bill.
Reid, whose leadership is considered crucial if President Barack Obama is to deliver on his promise of enacting health care reform this year, offered the directive to Baucus through an intermediary after consulting with Senate Democratic leaders during Tuesday morning’s regularly scheduled leadership meeting. Baucus was meeting with Finance ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) Tuesday afternoon to relay the information.
According to Democratic sources, Reid told Baucus that taxing health benefits and failing to include a strong government-run insurance option of some sort in his bill would cost 10 to 15 Democratic votes; Reid told Baucus it wasn’t worth securing the support of Grassley and at best a few additional Republicans. . . .
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is set to complete the markup of its health care reform legislation this week or next. One senior Democratic Senate aide warned Tuesday that further delays by the Finance Committee could result in the planned merger of the two panels’ bills being scrapped in favor of allowing each one to move to the floor on its own.
The HELP bill is unanimously supported by the panel’s Democrats, with all Republicans opposed. It was drafted with liberal reform goals in mind, including health care policies that many Democrats have sought for decades.
“The longer Baucus takes, the trickier it gets,” the senior Democratic Senate aide said.
The demise of the proposals to tax health benefits is not surprising; economists don’t like the exclusion, but employees depend on it. If we retain the current employer-based system, it’s not clear how you eliminate the exclusion and keep public support. If the Senate needs tax revenues, they’ll have to tax someone/something else, like a surtax on the wealthy the House is considering or Obama’s proposal to limit deductions for the wealthiest individuals.
Give ‘em Hell Harry isn’t the most reliable leader, but he just hit the Senate Mods and Republicans with a 2 X 4 message: "This train is leaving the station, and if Republicans aren’t on it, it’s their problem." I hope someone tells Rahm.
Welcome to the Senate, Al Franken.
Update: AfterDowningStreet also reports the Progressive Caucus just sent a love letter to Rahm about how much they dislike triggers. From Rep. Grijalva’s letter to Obama (pdf):
I want to be crystal clear that any such trigger for a strong public plan option is a non-starter with a majority of the Members of the Progressive Caucus (CPC). As the CPC has repeatedly stated, its Members cannot support final passage of any health care reform bill that does not include a robust public plan option, akin to Medicare, operating alongside the private plans.
Public opinion polls show that 76° o of Americans want a robust public plan option and I will stand in solidarity with them. Moreover, I consider it unacceptable for any of the cost savings that you are negotiating with hospitals and other sectors of the health care industry to be made contingent upon a robust public plan option not being included in the final legislation.
Those private deals Baucus was pushing (with WH approval) were reported here.
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Very good news.
If true.
Oh, please the gods, let it happen.
I must confess that I’ve been not very optimistic about the passing of a public option. (I actually was born in Missouri… I can’t help it.)
Hapless Harry got a clue? Standing by on jaw drop.
I think Harry gets instructions, then passes them along. Note that Rahm is supposed to be meeting with the chairs of the three house committees that produced the “tri-committee” house bill. Can’t wait to hear the reports on that one.
Great post, Scarecrow! Please, please, please tell me this will hold and ultimately the health care plan that comes to fruition will include a public option. My theory is that many, many businesses are tired of the health care industry’s antics, their pricing, their throwing patients out once they start getting pricey. I think we are now well beyond the point that the traffic will bear, and insurers and providers are being told that now. No doubt insurers are seriously worried. But given the public option, I will not be a bit surprised when businesses stop playing the kabuki dance they regularly do with their particular insurers when it comes to renegotiating next year’s rates. If businesses flock to the public option, as I think they will, insurers will have to work with them if they are to survive at all! They are currently trying to buy their way out of the trouble they’re in, stating how many multiple millions they are willing to cut as concessions if the other side gives up the public option demand. And all they really had to do is look at the polls! Good grief, I hope they have woken up finally.
The way I see it this puts Baucus in a hole of his own making, along with the corps who shoveled him so much money. If he follows his own devices he will screw Americans who desperately need the health care. It will be interesting to see what will happen if he screws Reid too. But then again, I’m not sure this isn’t a setup to shift the damage of Baucus screwing Americans to Reid. Sure is nice to be able to trust Democrats, huh.
It’s a trap, unfortunately.
The FISA kabuki redux all over again… two versions of the bill hit the floor at the same time and *ABRACADABRA!* the worst possible bill magically passes while Reid regretfully sighs while pocketing his corporate payoffs.
Yes, that scenario occurred to me too.
Thanks.
Question: with a public plan vs. single payer universal one, the employer would still get to pick the private insurer … and those without employer paid plans would then be in a “public option”. Only then? Is that how it would work. Then it sounds once again, like a dangerous deal-making between employers and health care companies, collusion, and the public plan would be doing the heavy lifting with those out of work and those too sick, etc., to work, those self-employed? Is that how they will keep the insurance people happy with a public plan? It sounds like two-tiered America again. Please let me know. Thanks.