Thank you Senator Burris of Ill. who tonight may be the man who ensured the public option be passed. With Rockefeller and Brown also today making strong statements against the Baucus bill, it is Burris who is the first senator to state with hessitation- if there is no strong PO in this bill he is voting NO. Period. Its time others follow the ead here. We need firm a nd clear NOs from Senators on any bill that doesnt have a PO without trigger.
Weiner has proclaimed Buacus bill dead. HCAN also. AFL CIO slams the bill as anti worker. And poor Max cannot get Chamber of Commerce to sign on now. The first shot in the Senate has now been fired. Wh met Rockefeller I think to pressure him to back off. Let us hope he plans not to. Im hoping now others will follow Burris and say no deal unless PO from day one.
thank you Sen Burris!
Burris Becomes First Senator to Insist on a Public Option
Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 5:55PM
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Health Care, Max Baucus, Public Option, Roland Burris, Senate
In response to the release of Sen. Max Baucus' health care reform bill, Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) became the first Senator today to say he will vote against any health care bill that does not include a public option.
"I firmly believe in a public option and will oppose any bill that does not include one," Burris said. "Illinoisans have seen their insurance premiums skyrocket, while more and more families lose their coverage every day."
You can read the entire statement below the fold. Obviously, there's a huge difference between opposing health care reform without a public option, and voting no on cloture (i.e. supporting a filibuster) on a bill without a public option. In fact, with the Senate numbers being what they are, the difference is crucial, and if Burris is suggesting the latter, it could have a tremendous impact on health care negotiations going forward. I've put in calls to his staff for clarity on that point, and will report back when I learn more.
"I firmly believe in a public option and will oppose any bill that does not include one. Illinoisans have seen their insurance premiums skyrocket, while more and more families lose their coverage every day."
"We need real reform now. The inclusion of a public option as a central component to any healthcare reform legislation is the only way to create meaningful competition with the insurance companies, and in turn, bring down costs and improve quality of care for the people of Illinois and all Americans.
"Following President Obama's healthcare speech last week, there is a great deal of momentum to fix the healthcare crisis, and I am committed to working with the White House, Senate leadership, and my colleagues to achieve consensus and to affect change on this critical issue. I am confident we will pass this legislation before the end of the year, and I look forward to casting my vote in the United States Senate for a healthcare reform bill that includes a public option."
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Sen Brown leans NO, Weiner-DOA
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) also said he was unsure he could support a Baucus-like bill on the Senate floor. "To me, it's got to have a public option. This is giving too much to the insurance industry to start off, and you don't negotiate that way," he said.
"If I vote for a bill without a public option it has to have very strong language in other places, and I think Baucus probably falls short on that."
Rockefeller will work to amend the bill in committee, he said, and will press the president Wednesday afternoon at the White House. He strongly supports adding a public option and wants to remove a tax on expensive insurance plans, a move he said unfairly hurt West Virginia coal miners. He'll present Obama, he said, with a list of alternative revenue sources.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
AFL CIO SLAMS BAUCUS DEAl:
The Senate Finance Committee’s health care reform proposal released this morning falls far short of the comprehensive reform that would provide working families with the quality and affordable health they desperately need, say health care advocates.
In a statement this morning, outgoing AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says the bill
"fails to meet the most basic health care needs of working families and it fails to meet the expectations we have set for our nation."
The labor leaders say the Finance Committee bill’s reliance on so-called health care co-ops as an alternative to a public option
fails to put pressure on private insurers to control health care costs. There is no history or logic behind the claim that health care co-ops would provide real competition for the giant private insurers that have a stranglehold on health coverage today.
While the bill’s main author, committee chairman Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), spent weeks trying to win some moderate Republican backing for the plan, not a single GOP senator has endorsed it. One key Finance Committee Democrat has already announced he will oppose the Baucus bill unless significant changes are made.
Along with dropping the public health insurance option-which is part of the House bill (H.R. 3200) and the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pension (HELP) committee bill-the Baucus bill also taxes some health plans and individuals who fail to buy private insurance, while providing no penalties to irresponsible employers who do not provide coverage.
While taxing group plans that may have higher costs because the plans cover older workers, workers with worse than average health histories or who simply live in higher cost areas, it imposes no taxes high cost individual plans.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), a long-time advocate of health care reform, says because the bill abandons the public health insurance option-among other objections–
there is no way in present form I will vote for it. Therefore, I will not vote for it unless it changes during the amendment process by vast amounts... I am putting down a marker, which I think others should put down, too, who might feel the same way I do.
There are, some provisions in the bill that do provide important insurance industry reforms and improvements in how health care is delivered and paid for with a focus on quality over quantity. But say the AFL-CIO leaders
But the proposal’s strong points are nowhere near sufficient to outweigh its problems. However well intentioned the attempts at bipartisanship, the final product reflects the bankrupt policies of the past more than the forward-looking policies needed to drive meaningful health care reform.
We are counting on finance committee Democrats to fix the bill and side with working families, not insurance companies.
The Finance Committee is scheduled to begin mark-up of the bill-when improving amendments can added-next week. The Senate HELP committee has approved its version and action on the House legislation is expected later this month.
http://blog.aflcio.org/...
You Go Rep G!
Congressman Grijalva Statement on Senate Health Care Reform Bill
Wednesday September 16, 2009
Washington, D.C.—Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement today, concerning the Senate version of the health care reform bill:
"Today, the Senate Finance Health Care Reform bill was released by Senator Max Baucus.
"It is telling that Senator Baucus stood alone at today’s press conference. There was no "Gang of Six," including the absence of Senator Snowe and no Democrats. Even with huge concessions to the legislation, including no public option, it not so shockingly, has not garnered any visible support.
"Now that we've seen that Senate Republicans are not going to support any bill, no matter how weak, it is time to start earnest negotiations among Democrats for what is best for America, not what is best for people’s personal politics.
"This bill fails to meet the basic principle of health care reform: that all Americans will have good, affordable health care. It would give a government-subsidized monopoly to the private insurance industry to sell their most profitable plans without having to face competition from a public health insurer.
"Under the Baucus bill, employers would have no responsibility to help pay for their workers coverage and would be given incentives to have workers pay more for barebones insurance. This "free rider" provision would divide workers into two classes, "the have and have-nots". This effectively could discourage employers from hiring those who come from low-income families. And those who don’t get health benefits through work would still not be able to afford any coverage at all.
"As I have said in the past, a strong public option is the most effective way to achieve our goals of controlling costs, eliminating abuses of patients by insurance company abuses, and providing quality health care to all.
"I urge the Senators on the Finance Committee to replace the Baucus plan with legislation that will guarantee that quality, affordable health care that includes a strong public option. Anything less is unacceptable."
http://grijalva.house.gov/...
HCAN A BIG NO GO:
Health Care for America Now
Calls Baucus Bill A Failure
Calls on Senate Finance Committee to Fix It
Washington, DC – Health Care for America Now (HCAN) – the nation’s largest health care campaign – released the following statement today on Senator Max Baucus’ health care bill:
Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now:
""The Baucus bill is a gift to the insurance industry that fails to meet the most basic promise of health care reform: a guarantee that Americans will have good health care that they can afford. The Baucus bill would give a government-subsidized monopoly to the private insurance industry to sell their most profitable plans - high-deductible insurance - without having to face competition from a public health insurer.
Under the Baucus bill, employers would have no responsibility to help pay for their workers’ coverage and would be given incentives to have workers pay more for barebones insurance. Americans who don’t get health benefits through work would still not be able to get good, affordable coverage.
We urge Senators on the Finance Committee to replace the Baucus plan with legislation that will do what the Senate HELP Committee and three House committees have done: guarantee that Americans have good health insurance that they can afford with the choice of a strong national public health insurance option."
Jacki Schechner
National Communications Director
HCAN
Chamber of Commerce does not back bill. Poor Max:
"Chairman Baucus has made a good faith effort to address the concerns of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and we thank him for his inclusive efforts. The business community has strongly advocated for health care reform and the Senate Finance bill is the best effort to date."We applaud the provisions in this bill that will lower health care costs, increase coverage, and improve the quality of care. These range from fairly regulating the insurance market to enacting tax parity for small businesses and the self employed. We strongly support allowing plans to be sold nationally, and allowing individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines. This bill does not contain a government-run "public option", and the Congressional Budget Office has certified it as the first comprehensive health reform bill that will actually bend the cost curve and get health care costs under control.
"However, we have grave concerns over the vast array of new taxes contained in the bill. This bill creates a new tax on benefits that may well spiral out of control to become the next Alternative Minimum Tax. It taxes prescriptions, insurance policies, medical devices, clinics and labs... and all of these taxes will increase costs for employers and workers. The bill does not contain health courts or any other meaningful medical liability reform. Not to mention, the bill creates a massive new entitlement in the form of insurance credits that will burden taxpayers now and in the future. Overall, the bill still needs tremendous improvement.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...