Health Insurance Reform Passes Thru Key House Ctee

by Jonathan Singer, Fri Jul 31, 2009 at 05:40:13 PM EDT

But I thought everything was tied up in Congress...

The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Friday night approved the Democrats' healthcare reform bill, setting up a floor vote this fall.
The passage of the legislation came after days of intense negotiations between Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and conservative Democrats as well as liberal Democrats.

Per The Hill, the final vote in the committee was 31-28, with five Democrats joining with every Republican on the panel voting no.

It's hard not to see this as anything but a major coup -- for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman and, of course, President Barack Obama. The establishment media may have bought into the notion that health insurance reform is bound to fail, just as it has in the last several dozen Congresses since Harry Truman ran on universal coverage in 1948. But inch-by-inch, vote-by-vote, reform is moving through the Capitol as the nation moves closer to a universal healthcare system.

Tags: 111th Congress, health insurance reform, Healthcare (all tags)

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It will depend on recess narrative

It is only relevant depending on what is done between now and the final vote. The insurance industry got what it wanted- namely a stall so that they could try to raise the negatives on the House bill. So, when you say major coup- I am not sure we know that yet. Certainly, the Democratic Party and progressive groups can do a lot to ensure that we do not get a swiftboating of the plan before the final vote in the House. The Senate is looking better because of Senator Baucus imploding and the funny threats out of Nelson. But, there again, there are too many unknown variables, and there is too much we can not predict during recess.

by bruh3 2009-07-31 06:37PM | 0 recs

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This should pass the House

by a narrow margin in September. Democrats just are not stupid enough to kill reform.

by Kent 2009-07-31 06:55PM | 0 recs

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Re: This should pass the House

What seems like stupidity now may no seem the same way after the barrage of insurance ads. I can not stress enough that what the hope people will do is what Democrats most often do- assume a win when there is not yet one. I will believe it when the bill is reconcilliation.

by bruh3 2009-07-31 07:23PM | 0 recs

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Re: This should pass the House

You have to remember that a lot of big players are on our side now... Big Pharma is going to spend $3 million on PRO reform ads... AARP is hitting its membership hard and putting out ads... the insurance industry is pushing Baucus' plan... so is the chamber of commerce, who just endorsed Baucus' plan...

The big players that sunk Clinton's reform are either fully on board, or half on board, but they aren't out for the kill like before.

That's a HUGE difference!!

by LordMike 2009-07-31 08:20PM | 0 recs

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Re: This should pass the House

I seem to recall hearing that the unions were quietly against Clinton's plan... Mr. Union Man!!

by Steve M 2009-07-31 08:30PM | 0 recs

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Re: This should pass the House

As I understand, their issue with Clinton was his passage of NAFTA, which they rightly felt to be a betrayal.

by bruh3 2009-07-31 09:19PM | 0 recs

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Re: This should pass the House

Fear of 1994 will keep the congress critters in line...

It's the best thing we have going for us right now!

by LordMike 2009-07-31 08:20PM | 0 recs

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Re: This should pass the House

I do not think the left wing organizations should count on the next 5 weeks being a timeout. They , as I have said, should see it as a time when the insurance companies will lie, cheat and steal to have a repeat. I don't think 2009 is like the 90s, but I also do not think there should be any doubt that the insurance companies will try to use this time to kill the bill.

by bruh3 2009-07-31 09:27PM | 0 recs

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Re: This should pass the House

The insurance companies need a reform bill... Their available customers are dropping rapidly. The baby boomers are starting to retire and get out of the private market... the rest are too old to get coverage, and companies are dropping coverage right and left. They need that individual mandate badly to survive!

What they don't want is the public plan... So, expect to see ads attacking the public plan and praising baucuscare... In fact, their first ad campaign did just that....

It's not the same as 1994, but we should be working extra hard!!

by LordMike 2009-07-31 09:59PM | 0 recs

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if Obama signs health care reform

that is convoluted, expensive, and doesn't solve the major problems in the current health care system, it won't be a "coup" for anyone but Republicans.

An individual mandate to buy health insurance should ONLY be implemented if there is a strong public option and significant subsidies for low and middle-income families. We may be poised to adopt health care reform that excludes most Americans from the public option, won't reduce costs and forces them to buy overpriced private insurance they can't afford. And Blue Dogs want to lower the income level that qualifies for subsidies.

I repeat, that scenario would be a coup for Republicans.

by desmoinesdem 2009-07-31 07:28PM | 0 recs

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Re: if Obama signs health care reform

I have said it many times before and given the state of affairs now I will say it again: the blame for the current state of disarray in health care legislation, the inability of the finance committee to even come up with a bill before the August recess and the dilution of the house bill, can all be traced to the near complete lack of leadership from the WH. Even now there is no clear cut proposals coming from there. It is as if the WH finds that it is better to come in late and do this sales pitch without clearly articulating what it wants and what it will find unacceptable.

The house bill is still far better than anything I have heard from the Senate, but I agree with you, without either strong public option or even a strong insurance exchange that is open to the public, this bill will be costly and nonsensical. The canard that is being bandied around that let's not let perfect be the enemy of good is ridiculous in this context. Because what we have now is just barely good, it is borderline acceptable.

All I can say now is let's gear up for a long hot August.

by tarheel74 2009-07-31 08:10PM | 0 recs

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2013

Could a GOP Congress kill the plan then?
Keep in mind, if the Dems lose a bunch of governors (along with some state legislatures) in the 2009-10 cycle, the 2012 Congressional elections will be almost as important as the outcome of Obama's re-election.

What happens is that the both 2010 and 2012 will be referenda on health care reform,

by esconded 2009-07-31 07:31PM | 0 recs

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Re: 2013

A GOP Congress would be suicidal to try and kill an existing plan that would give people healthcare and if Obama is still in office in 2013, there would likely be a government shutdown and huge backlash if Republicans tried to repeal the plan.

by Kent 2009-07-31 08:26PM | 0 recs

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Re: 2013

the demographics are against that happening for a decade or more. Probably 2.

by bruh3 2009-07-31 10:46PM | 0 recs

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Nate thinks it'll barely pass the House

Check this out:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/08/h ealth-care-bill-has-little-margin-for.ht ml

The battle is far from over. I know this bill is better than no bill. But this is not the best bill, and the Democratic leadership and Obama is all-in now. Good luck.

by esconded 2009-08-01 03:01PM | 0 recs