Pelosi: New health care bill is 'historic moment'

[one...two...tree 2,762]

By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – After months of struggle, House Democrats unveiled sweeping legislation Thursday to extend health care coverage to millions who lack it and create a new option of government-run insurance. A vote is likely next week on the plan patterned closely on President Barack Obama's own.

Speaking on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress was "on the cusp of delivering on the promise of making affordable, quality health insurance available to every American — and laying the foundation for a brighter future for generations to come."

Officials said the measure, once fully phased in over several years, would extend coverage to 96 percent of Americans. Its principal mechanism is creation of a new government-regulated insurance "exchange" where private companies could sell policies in competition with the government. Federal subsidies would be available to millions of lower-income individuals and families to help them afford the policies.

The ceremony marked a pivotal moment in Democrats' yearlong attempt to answer Obama's call for legislation to remake the nation's health care system by extending insurance, ending industry practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions, and slowing the growth of medical spending nationwide.

Democrats issued a statement saying their measure "lowers costs for every patient" and would not add to federal deficits. They put the cost of coverage at under $900 billion over 10 years, a total that evidently didn't include additional spending.

Pelosi was flanked by rank-and-file Democrats as she made her remarks.

Across the Capitol, Senate Democrats, too, are hoping to pass legislation by year's end. Legislation outlined by Majority Leader Harry Reid earlier this week would include an option for a government-run plan, although states could drop out if they wished, a provision not in the House measure.

With Republicans expected to oppose the measure unanimously, Pelosi and her lieutenants worked for weeks to resolve differences within the Democratic rank and file.

The toughest of them covered the terms under which the government insurance option would function. Liberals generally wanted the government to dictate the rates to be paid to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers, with the fee levels linked to Medicare.

Moderates, fearing the impact on their local hospitals, held out for negotiated rates between the government and private insurers — and won.

Not all liberals were ready to sign on. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was noncommittal about whether progressives would accept the negotiated rates. "This is not walkaway time and it is not acceptance time," she said.

Democrats control 256 seats in the House, are overwhelmingly favored to win one special election next week and are competitive for another. As a result, they can afford 30 defections or more on the legislation and still prevail.

The legislation would be financed by a combination of cuts in planned Medicare spending and an income tax surcharge of 5.4 percent on individuals making at least $500,000 annually and couples making at least $1 million.

The bill would require nearly everyone by 2013 to sign up for health coverage either through their employer, a government program or the new exchange.

In the meantime, a temporary government program would help people turned down by private insurers because of medical problems, lawmakers said. After that, insurers no longer could refuse to provide coverage to the sick, nor could they charge more because of poor health of the insured.

The plan also calls for a significant expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health program for low-income people. And it would impose a requirement on employers to offer insurance to their workers or face penalties.

Pelosi and the leadership have yet to work out disputes over abortion services and health care for immigrants, issues that must be settled before the bill can come to a vote.

Republicans long ago decided to oppose the approach requested by Obama and taken by Democrats, and health care is expected to figure in next year's congressional election campaign.

"Americans' health care is too important to risk on one gigantic bill that was negotiated behind closed doors," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich. "The Medicare cuts will hurt seniors, the tax increases will kill jobs and the government takeover of health care will increase premium costs."

Pelosi has also said the bill would strip the health insurance industry of a long-standing exemption from antitrust laws covering market allocation, price fixing and bid rigging. Democratic officials said the bill also would give the Federal Trade Commission authority to look into the health insurance industry at its own initiative. The officials spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to pre-empt a formal announcement.

"I'm pretty confident that we've got the right pieces in place," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, one of the three panels that approved different versions of the legislation months ago.

"We can quibble over parts of it, but the fact is when you're taking a 60-year-old system that grew up in a rather haphazard fashion and you're trying to bring some coherence to it, these are sort of the things you have to do at the beginning of that process."

If Obama does get to sign a health overhaul bill, he will have bucked decades of failed attempts by past administrations, most recently by former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. There's still no guarantee that Congress can complete the legislation before year's end, as the president wants.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091029/ap_on_...h_care_overhaul

[kaydee457 13]

If I were Pelosi I wouldn't be making any victory speeches just yet......

[Danno 1,228]

The assassination of JFK was a "Historical moment" too.

So whats your point?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

[almaty 19]

lol...

[Joseph & Ana 0]

It will be historic when its rejected. hehehe..

Mission accomplished indeed.

[HAL 9000 96]

One should never count chickens before the eggs hatch but I have a feeling there will be even more sour grapes ahead from the RWN.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The armies all have a date on the battlefield finally. Let conflagration begin!

VIDEO

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I don't get why people insist on this "I can't wait for it to fail, Muah-hahahhaharr!"

It makes you look pretty stupid if it doesn't go the way you want.

[HAL 9000 96]

I don't get why people insist on this "I can't wait for it to fail, Muah-hahahhaharr!"

It makes you look pretty stupid if it doesn't go the way you want.

Election Day evening was such a quiet night from these people... its something we've seen time and time again here is it not?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Both election days actually - same thing in 2006.

[Joseph & Ana 0]

Both election days actually - same thing in 2006.

I wasn't here then, but I said that the Repubs deserved to be thrown out.

McCain winning the nom actually made me hope that Hillary won the nomination because in a lot of ways she's more conservative than he is.

I also said in 2008 that I hoped the Dem would win because McCain would destroy the repub party even farther because of being a lib. (he played conservative during the campaign)

I then predicted that the Dem would wreck the country so bad that we'd get a good candidate in 2012 for a change. We'll see if i was right. I've been right on most but that last one.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Both election days actually - same thing in 2006.

Nov 3 becomes more auspicious, as all this and other contorversal issues will begin to be resolved after Tuesday's off year election.

[DEDixon 39]

i really hope this is passed

3 cheers for gov't HC.... 1... yea!!!! 2... yea!!!!! 3.... yea!!!!!!!

[HAL 9000 96]

i really hope this is passed

3 cheers for gov't HC.... 1... yea!!!! 2... yea!!!!! 3.... yea!!!!!!!

Is that what's being considered? I thought it was private + public option.

Unless you do not have private insurance and want some kind of coverage... which would mean you may be one of the eligible members of the uninsured for public coverage which you'd pay for via taxes.