Update: After protests by some of the Energy & Commerce Committee’s liberal members forced a cancellation of Wednesday’s mark-up, chair Henry Waxman has rescheduled the mark-up for Thursday. This was after a lengthy session reviewing the proposed changes to the bill with committee members.
Two major stories on health care broke this afternoon from both chambers. On the House side, Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-CA) announced a deal with the Blue Dog caucus that allows the committee to finish its markup before the August recess. Speaking in front of reporters this afternoon, Waxman said the mark-up would continue at 4 PM today and he anticipates the bill will receive a vote out of committee by Friday. However, the House Democratic leadership pledged that consideration of the bill would be delayed until after the August recess. In addition, Waxman and the Blue Dogs agreed to exempt all small businesses with payroll greater than $500,000 from the employer mandate (up from the earlier $250,000 limit) and add language allowing doctors to negotiate their own rates on government health care plans.
On the Senate side, Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT) announced that the Congressional Budget Office has scored his committee’s bill as costing under $900 billion over ten years, with the bill being fully paid for within those ten years. The legislation would also cover 95% of Americans, fulfilling the major requirements for health care reform laid out by the president and Congressional leaders. The bill’s cost could actually cost as little as $750 billion, according to reports.
Stay tuned to the Power of A for the latest in health care reform.
