Few changes to the bill have been made on the Senate floor. Rather, Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) has been working behind-the-scenes on a manager’s amendment that will incorporate the necessary modifications to the current bill to secure the 60 votes required for passage.
As Reid looks to secure 60 votes, agreement on two highly-controversial issues remains elusive - abortion and the public health insurance option. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE), a pro-life Democrat whose vote is crucial to passing health reform, was unable to pass his anti-abortion amendment. Nelson has previously stated that he would not support a bill that does not contain a strong prohibition on federal funding for abortions. Several senators are working to develop compromise language that will be amenable to both sides of the abortion issue.
As noted last week, a group of liberal and moderate Democrats sent a proposal to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for analysis. This proposal would replace the public health insurance option with a national marketplace for individuals to purchase private health insurance plans. This proposal originally included a “Medicare buy-in” provision that would enable certain individuals aged 55-64 to purchase Medicare coverage. However, at the insistence of Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT), the Medicare provision was dropped from the proposal. Senate Democrats await the results of the CBO analysis, which could come any time this week. The conclusions of the CBO review will be vital to the fate of health care reform in the Senate. More Information from APhA
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