Health Care Progress Report: November 16

Abortion, Cost Issues, Keep Controversy Alive Over Health Care Bill

(CBS)  Congress is pressing up against its Christmas deadline for passing health care legislation, and yet the Democrats' health care plans remain as controversial and tenuous as ever. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected any day now to finally reveal the health care bill he will bring to the floor for what may be weeks of debate. Meanwhile, interest groups are up in arms over an abortion-related amendment surreptitiously added to the bill passed in the House.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

As Washington lawmakers have been working through the six major steps they need to complete to pass a health care reform bill, CBSNews.com has been tracking their progress for you on the chart below. Reid will have to finish the second step very soon if he intends to complete step three and pass a bill in the Senate before the year is up. His job only becomes more complicated as more time passes, giving reform opponents a chance to scrutinize the bill passed out of the House on Nov. 7.



More on the progress of health care legislation in each chamber of Congress.

HOUSE: House leaders, no doubt pleased with their passage of health care legislation, skipped out of town last week for a Veterans' Day recess. The debate over H.R. 3962 is far from over, however.

Both opponents and supporters of abortion rights have been galvanized into action after the House passed, with the help of 64 Democrats, an amendment to the bill to limit insurance coverage for abortion. The so-called Stupak amendment would prevent women who receive federal subsidies for health insurance from purchasing plans that cover abortion. It would also explicitly ban abortion coverage from the government-run plan, or "public option." It would also likely have the effect of keeping private insurers from selling plans on the national health insurance exchange that cover abortion.

Abortion rights groups like Planned Parenthood, which normally would support the Democrats' plan to expand health coverage, said they have no choice but to oppose the House bill. Meanwhile, Republicans found themselves in hot water with some of their online allies after it was revealed the Republican National Committee has been offering its employees insurance coverage for abortions through Cigna. RNC Chair Michael Steele promptly said the group's coverage would change.

Meanwhile, a report released Saturday from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services concludes that health care costs would rise as a share of Gross Domestic Product by 2019 under the House health care plan. Republicans wielded this new information to continue their denouncement of Democrats' plans.

Democrats have cut some industry deals in attempts to bring down health care costs, but they may not be as effective as planned. The New York Times reports that the pharmaceutical industry is raising its prices at the fastest rate in years -- even as the Consumer Price Index falls -- canceling out a large portion of the $80 billion in savings the industry promised to President Obama.

SENATE: Abortion and cost issues are just as hazardous for Harry Reid in the Senate. The majority leader has not yet decided how to deal with the issue of abortion in his bill, Roll Call reports, but he nevertheless wants to begin a floor debate on his bill before Thanksgiving.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) has said that he wants to see language similar to the Stupak amendment added to the Senate bill. If he is not pleased with the bill's treatment of abortion or its other provisions, he may join a Republican filibuster, Nelson said on Wednesday.

Reid needs to keep all 60 Senate Democrats in line to defeat a Republican filibuster -- unless he chooses to use a procedural maneuver called reconciliation. Former President Bill Clinton paid a visit to Senate Democrats last week, urging them to pass the bill soon, regardless of its imperfections.

In another potentially controversial move, Reid is reportedly considering increasing wealthy Americans' payroll tax in order to help pay for the legislation.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on "Fox News Sunday" that the Senate should have at least six weeks to go over the legislation once it is revealed. Reid is waiting to receive a cost estimate for the bill from the Congressional Budget Office before unveiling it.

[skicky]

HEALTH CARE IS BETTER THAN THE 1970S THEY LET MANY PEOPLE DIE
BECAUSE DOCTOR DO NOT WORK FOR FREE !!
AT LEAST NOW THERE SOME HELP,
DO NOT SELL ON AMAZON THERE A ROTTEN COMPANY THAT DOES NOT WANT
TOO PAY AFTER THERE FEES AND WAITING FOR MONTHS TOO GET PAY,
YOU WILL NEED HEALTH CARE !!!!!!

[cwdfreedom]

this health care bill is bad from top too bottom. we do not want goverment controlled health care, we dont want obama and his liberal allies to control whether we get treatment or not. this nation has always had a free market economy. we do not want the evil obama's socialism. he just wants to tax us more and more and steal our freedoms away. and obama is anti life and wants to use our tax payer dollars to continue his genocide against the unborn

[gboyd41]

charles-let's take this one item at a time. Plus, I hope you are wrong and just blowing smoke. Let's consider a senario in which you "are correct", say as a basis of discussion. Item #1-page 50: illegals, Personally, I don't like it because it is ILLEGAl for them to be here, but not a "billkiller". Item #2-pages 58 & 59: The govt. able to withdraw from my checking account? You have got to be kidding! Who will be doing this, some nimwit with highschool ed. with a ""cookbook" in front of him/her! This one I can't believe. Item #3: Page 65: I guess if you don't have business to support you, put your hand out to ACORN and the unions. Item #4: page 203: of course, by all means, don't call it tax. But, the middle class will pay-regardless of what it is called. The WH may think the American people will not figure this out-and they may be right! Item #5: They, and insurance companies are already regulating the fees- by paying what they want. Plus, doctors have different training lengths/costs. If all are paid the same, why would you go into neurosurgery, OB, if you could be in a less time consuming specialty? Would you expect to see a shortage in some fields, and perhaps less well qualified candidates? Item #6: count on it. Next Items- would not be shocked @ all. Welcome to Obama's Brave New World!

[retm-w]

After all that work Pelosi and company had to take five days off to celebrate.

[lmartink]

One thing is certain, if Congress does not pass Healthcare Reform the currend Healthcare Crisis will continue, and get worse.

Hospitals will still struggle to collect money from Insurance Companies and Medicare. Increasing numbers of uninsured will be unable to pay their bills.

Steadily declining revenues will force Administrators to layoff more Nurses and Technicians. Waiting times will get even longer. Quality will suffer as fewer healthcare professionals are required to do more with less.

Anyone who thinks we have the best healthcare system in the world is nuts. Compared to World Health Organization standards, other first-world nations continue to pass us by.

The Republican option of doing nothing will only make the situation worse, and cost even more to fix it next time around. Of course there is no motive whatsoever for them to do anything -- they enjoy the best of a government run healthcare system. They make big bucks in the form of campaign donations from the Insurance Companies.

And we think Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan is corrupt........ Well, corruption is a seriously deadly disease that is right here in your own Congressional District.

[charles123456789075]

Here is what has passed so far. This country is toast. (Welcome to hell)

Page 50/section 152: The bill will provide insurance to all non-U.S. residents, even if they are here illegally.

Page 58 and 59: The government will have real-time access
to an individual's bank account and will have the authority to make electronic
fund transfers from those accounts.

Page 65/section 164: The plan will be subsidized (by the
government) for all union members, union retirees and for community
organizations (such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now -
ACORN).

Page 203/line 14-15: The tax imposed under this section will
not be treated as a tax. (How could anybody in their right mind come
up with that?)

Page 241 and 253: Doctors will all be paid the
same regardless of specialty, and the government will set all doctors'
fees.

Page 272. section 1145: Cancer hospital will ration care according to the
patient's age.

Page 317 and 321: The government will impose a prohibition on hospital expansion;
however, communities may petition for an exception.

Page 425, line 4-12: The government mandates advance-care planning
consultations. Those on Social Security will be required to attend an
"end-of-life planning" seminar every five years.

Page 429, line 13-25: The government will specify which doctors
can write an end-of-life order."

[ajvw]

can't get a word in on the Palin pages. LOL

[retm-w]

She's more popular then the POTUS and First Lady.