The Power of A

While House and Senate Democratic leaders try to cobble together enough votes to pass their health care legislation, both chambers had votes on components of reform that could signal what smaller issues could impact the passage of a larger bill.

The Senate vote was a 53-47 vote against a motion to proceed on a Medicare bill that would permanently prevent Medicare payment cuts to doctors.  Currently, payments are scheduled to fall 21% next year, and traditionally Congress has chosen to enact temporary one year fixes.  The Senate majority, however, tried to move a separate bill to freeze the reimbursement rates at the current year’s level for a decade.  The vote against cloture saw 13 Democrats vote with a united Republican caucus mainly over concerns for the cost.  The bill, which would have cost $247 billion over ten years, was not offset and was specifically excluded from a larger health care bill for that reason.  Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) indicated that the Senate would consider a short-term fix.

On the House side, the Judiciary Committee voted 20-9 to pass a bill out of committee that would remove the federal exemption for insurance companies from antitrust laws.  The issue has gained momentum in Congress after America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released a study critical of the Senate Finance Committee’s proposed health care bill.  The antitrust language is expected to be included in the House comprehensive bill, and the Senate will debate similar language in the coming weeks.

Quick Hits

Some House Democratic leaders say that they have the 218 votes (subscription) needed to pass comprehensive health care reform, others says they just have 218 votes in favor of a strong public option… A former US Trade Representative comes out against banning lobbyists from serving on federal commissions and advisory boards… The FCC Chairman revises his net neutrality plan (subscription) to make it more amenable to Republican commissioners… The House debates amendments to the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act.