House Dems Holding Firm On Health Care

Political Wire is reporting that the Democrats are having problems resolving the differences between the House and Senate versions of the health care reform bill. It looks like progressives in the House are not willing to throw the public option out the window -- at least until there is something else in the bill to hold down the cost of insurance premiums (something the public option would have done well).

President Obama has sided with the Senate and wants the House to adopt that version of the bill. He's ready to leave consumers at the mercy of private insurance companies, but so far, the House progressives are not willing to accept that. They want some kind of mechanism that will put pressure on private insurance companies to lower premiums.

Although they would like that mechanism to be a public option, the odds are that it probably won't be. One thing the representatives are considering is a national health insurance exchange that would probably contain some non-profit private insurance plans. The Senate has already thrown that idea out (thanks to Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson), and instead came up with a system where each state would create it's own health insurance exchange.

The Senate plan would not work to hold down the cost of insurance premiums. In states like Texas and the states in the Deep South, the states ruled by Republican state leaders, you can be sure that the state exchange created would assure the private insurance companies make a maximum profit rather than lower their rates for consumers. A state exchange would be useless.

IIf it's done right, a national exchange might actually provide some competition for the insurance companies and drive down prices. It would not be as good as the public option, but it might be workable. But if the House gives up the public option, the Senate must give some too and accept the national insurance exchange.

But the Senate is not willing to negotiate. They keep whining about needing 60 votes, and this is starting to anger those in the House. After all, they need to get 218 votes and if they lose a few progressives they might not be able to get there.

One anonymous representative said, "We keep hearing them squeal like pigs in the Senate that they had a tough time getting to 60. Well, it wasn't particularly a picnic for us to get to 218. Generally speaking, the Senate kabuki dance has lost its magic on those of us in the House."

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-New York) (pictured) agrees saying, "We've got a problem on both sides of the Capitol. A serious problem. Normally you're just dealing with the Senate and they talk about 60 votes and you listen to them and cave in, but this is entirely different. I'm telling you that 218 has never been so important to me in the House."

I hope what we're hearing is true and the progressives in the House stand firm. They must not give in and pass the pitiful bill the Senate produced. Either fix the Senate bill or kill it and start over (using the reconciliation process). Putting a band-aid on the current system (as the Senate bill does) would just put off real reform for many more years, or decades.