A4 Thursday, July 16, 2009

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The Washington Post

Senate Panel Advances Health-Care Overhaul

But Battle Lines Sharpen Over Insurance Industry Fees, Medical Cost Controls

By Ceci Connolly and Lori Montgomery

Washington Post Staff Writers

President Obama’s ambitious

BY KEVIN LAMARQUE — REUTERS

In response to criticism of health-care proposals in Congress, President Obama said “the status quo on health care is not an option.”

drive to overhaul the nation’s $2.3 trillion health-care system cleared a key Senate committee yesterday. But the administration was prompt- ly buffeted by criticism from some of the industry players and moderate Democrats it has courted for months, calling into question the

prospects for a bipartisan landmark bill.

The Senate’s health committee

approved a bill that would vastly ex- pand health care in America, the first time in 15 years a congressional panel has endorsed coverage for all. “We are now closer to the goal of health reform than we have ever been,” Obama said.

But the 13 to 10 party-line vote, after rancorous comments by the top Republican on the committee,

underscored the mounting tensions in Congress and the country over the president’s signature item. From one end of Pennsylvania Av- enue to the other, lawmakers, lobby- ists and the president himself all moved quickly to position them- selves for the intensifying battle. In the House, a mini-rebellion

was erupting over cost controls in its $1.2 trillion bill, while several in- fluential industry groups broke their polite silence and issued pointed at-

tacks on core elements of the legisla- tion.

The president countered with a round of network television inter- views and a new advertising cam- paign with the message: “It’s Time.” “Make no mistake,” Obama said, “the status quo on health care is not an option for the United States of America.” Convinced that overhaul of the nation’s health-care system is a crit- ical element to the government’s long-term financial solvency, Obama has pressured Congress to deliver comprehensive legislation by early fall. Throughout the spring, the president successfully wooed many of the special interests that thwart- ed President Bill Clinton when he attempted a similar overhaul in 1993.

But yesterday the cordial talk

THE WAY FORWARDeleventh in a series.

gave way to rhetorical sparring. Four Democrats on the Senate Fi- nance Committee, in especially sharp language, called for new fees on the insurance industry aimed at raising $100 billion over the next decade.

Standing before a chart showing profits of the largest insurance com- panies soaring, the lawmakers chal- lenged insurers to join hospitals and drugmakers in making financial con- cessions in return for legislation that could deliver up to 50 million new customers.

“That profitability is enough to

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make big oil companies blush,” said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). “Our broken system is working very well for private health insurers, but not for American consumers.” Democratic sources said such fees are also gaining traction among Republicans, and are the leading contender to plug a $320 billion gap in an evolving Finance Committee proposal to pay for legislation that could cost $1 trillion. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R- Maine), a key swing vote on the committee, said she “personally wouldn’t have a problem with that.” The lobbying group America’s Health Insurance Plans warned, however, that “a new tax on health- care coverage is the wrong ap- proach and will make coverage less affordable for families and small businesses.” A spokesman for WellPoint, the nation’s largest publicly-traded health benefits firm, voiced similar objections.

Senate Finance negotiators last night were working to resolve a number of issues, including how to structure a consumer-run insurance co-operative and how to address abortion. They also were struggling to close the financial gap, with Dem- ocrats pushing for additional tax in- creases and Republicans pressing to carve back subsidies.

In the House, members prepared to begin work today on their version of a comprehensive health-care overhaul. Like the bill approved in the Senate Health, Education, La- bor and Pensions Committee, it would for the first time require both businesses and individuals to con- tribute to the cost of health insur- ance. Credits would be provided to some small businesses and families earning less than $88,000 a year. But the bill provoked sharp criti- cism from the corporate world and an uprising within the Democratic ranks by moderates who want to see greater efforts at controlling soaring medical costs. Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), speak- ing for the New Democrat Coali- tion, said the group has enough votes to thwart action in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “A lot of this could have been

avoided if they started listening to us three months ago,” he said in an interview. Despite a round robin of meetings with party leaders and a session with Obama on Monday, the bill “does not reflect many of our concerns,” he said. The House bill would cost be-

tween $1 trillion and $1.2 trillion over the next decade, depending on changes to Medicare physician pay- ments. It would impose a surtax on wealthy Americans, beginning with a 1 percent levy for couples earning $350,000 and rising to 5.4 percent on income above $1 million. Business leaders issued several critiques of the House approach. Both the National Federation of In- dependent Business and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce weighed in forcefully against proposals requir- ing employers to contribute to the cost of health care.

About 1,000 insurance agents fanned out across Capitol Hill, lob- bying against creation of a govern- ment-sponsored health plan that would compete with private firms. “This scares the heck out of me,”

said Tom Minkler, president of the Clark Mortenson Agency, an insur- ance and financial services agency in Keene, N.H. On visits to congres- sional offices, he expressed fear that the so-called public plan would lead to a European-style, single-payer system.

Obama, acknowledging the enor- mity of the task, observed: “It’s time for us to buck up.”

Staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66