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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (72859)	9/29/2009 10:39:41 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224744

Numerically, Democrats enjoy about as strong a position as they could hope for, with 60 votes in the Senate thanks to the arrival of a replacement for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, a large majority in the House and a still-popular president in the White House driving the overhaul.Yet the party has sharp disagreements on key issues including the public option -- which liberals say is a must in the bill -- and taxes. Democratic leaders in the House are still pushing a surtax on the wealthy. But with the Senate Finance Committee opposed, House Democrats are now considering plans to scale back the surtax and pick up some version of a Senate-proposed tax on insurers offering high-cost health plans. Sen. Rockefeller (D., W.Va.) said in Tuesday's debate that the public plan was essential to protect Americans from the profit-generating practices of insurers that lead them to deny care. "They're getting away with banditry, and they revel in it," Sen. Rockefeller said of insurance companies. Mr. Baucus's legislation would instead create a network of nonprofit health co-operatives to compete with private insurers. The co-operatives would be seeded with $6 billion in federal money.Obama has pushed for a public plan, saying it will reduce health costs and improve competition among insurers, but he also expressed flexibility in his Sept. 9 speech to a joint session of Congress. He signaled he was open to the nonprofit co-operatives or a trigger that would enact a government-run plan only if other changes don't expand coverage and lower costs as planned. The trigger idea has been floated by Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, the one Republican Senate Democrats have hopes of winning over. Sen. Rockefeller's proposal would have had the public plan pay low rates based on those of Medicare, the government-run health program for the elderly. Five Democrats, including Sen. Baucus, opposed it. Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) proposed paying rates above Medicare but below those paid by private insurers. He picked up two more Democrats but still lost 13-10.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125424025772149687.html