Health Care Reform Legislation Caught In Senate Gridlock
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 30) -- A partisan procedural fight has stalled health care reform legislation in the Senate. Democrats and Republicans are blaming each other for the gridlock that may delay consideration of the "patient-protection" legislation until September.
GOP sources say more than 50 Republican Senators have agreed to vote for the "patient-protection" legislation they introduced just two weeks ago.
If that count is accurate the Democrats' "patient bill of rights" would have no chance in a floor vote.
But Clinton Adminstration advisors have warned that problems in the GOP's bill may be grounds for a veto.
Since the Republicans are five Senators short of the 60 votes needed to avoid a compromise, Democrats could reshape the GOP legislation through floor amendments.
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Senate Majority Leader
Trent Lott
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Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott has offered limited debate and votes on the competing proposals. But Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle will not agree to the Republican restrictions.
"It is their fault ... we want to do health care now," says the Mississippi Republican. "In order to do that we're going to have to have ... some reasonable limit on amendments."
"On a bill of this magnitude we shouldn't be limited," the South Dakota Democrat says. "What are they afraid of? ...we'll come back in September with a major orchestrated battle on HMO reform."
On Wednesday a group of Senators tried to break the gridlock on the election year plans to regulate health insurance by proposing a compromise.
Under a deal worked out by Sen. John Chafee (R-R.I.), Bob Graham, (D-Fla.), Arlen Specter, (R-Pa.), Joseph Lieberman, (D-Conn.) and Max Baucus, (D-Mont.) both Republicans and Democrats would sacrifice parts of their current legislation.
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Senate Minority Leader
Tom Daschle
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Republicans would agree to give consumer protections, including the right to emergency room care in a crisis, to everyone with private insurance. The current GOP bill only extends those benefits to 48 million Americans.
The GOP would also sacrifice the tax changes it wants. Republicans had wanted and immediate 100 percent deductibility for health insurance bought by the self-employed, or an expansion of tax-free medical savings accounts.
Democrats would forgo provisions removing the federal protection against patient lawsuits that some employer-sponsored health plans currently enjoy.
Also under the compromise patients in federally regulated
health plans, who can now sue only for the cost of denied treatment, could get uncapped compensation for economic losses.
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