Health Care Reform Hopes "On Life Support"

(CBS/AP)  President Obama's health care appeal failed to break the U.S. congressional gridlock Thursday, dimming hopes for millions of uninsured Americans.

Congressional leaders have insisted health care would get passed, even though last week's stunning loss of the Massachusetts seat long held by the late Edward Kennedy cost Democrats the 60-vote supermajority they need to deliver in the 100-member Senate. Many Democrats saw a problem with no clear solution.

"It's very possible that health care is just a stalemate and you can't solve it this year," said Sen. Mark Pryor.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

If Obama and Democrats fail to pass any legislation this election year, Washington would still face the problem of millions of uninsured, rising medical costs and a dwindling trust fund for a government-run health plan for the elderly forecast to run out of money in 2017.

Obama's health care overhaul is "on life support," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., "but it still has a pulse."

The United States is the only developed country that lacks universal health care.

Obama urged lawmakers in Wednesday night's State of the Union address not to abandon the efforton what was once his top domestic priority - expanding coverage to millions of uninsured and reining in medical costs. But his enthusiastic words provided no specific prescription for moving forward, leaving lawmakers little better off than before.

Obama on Health Care: Finish the Job
Full Coverage: Obama's 2010 State of the Union

CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook says the primary problem facing backers of reform is the lack of clear explanation of the proposed changes to the American public.

"Proponents of reform have lost control of the message because people think it's too complicated to understand," writes LaPook. "Confused about important details of the proposals, the public is susceptible to misrepresentations by opponents."

Dr. LaPook Decodes Health Care Reform
Watch: LaPook on the Need for Reform

Senate Democratic leaders huddled Thursday to try to determine how to proceed, and the White House remained engaged in the negotiations. A Senate aide said lawmakers were hoping to decide on a legislative strategy by the end of next week.

Republican senators said senior White House officials had reached out to several in their ranks, including some conservatives, despite the unanimous Republican opposition to the far-reaching bill.

In a sign of how far health care had fallen since Obama campaigned on it, Senate Democrats devoted a weekly policy lunch Thursday to discussing jobs, not health care. Yet House and Senate leaders insisted success was still in reach.

"We're going to move forward on health reform. We're going to do health care reform this year," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat.

The leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, acknowledged in her weekly news conference that plenty of work remained if the House was to agree to changes to the Senate bill.

Just two weeks ago House and Senate leaders were working round the clock at the White House, with Obama personally involved, to merge legislation passed separately by each chamber and finalize a bill for Obama to sign in time for his State of the Union speech. That effort was upended when Republican Scott Brown claimed Kennedy's old Senate seat.

Since then Democrats have struggled to find a way forward. The leading strategy is for the House to pass the Senate bill along with a package of changes approved by both chambers, but that idea is fraught with difficulties both political and substantive. Some Democrats favor retreating from a comprehensive overhaul and taking a less ambitious approach with a series of individual initiatives or a smaller bill.

Insurers have opposed the overhaul even though it aims to insure more than 30 million people over the next decade with a new requirement for nearly everyone to be covered.

[ky7474]

The repubs have proven over and over they can't control the greed of big healthcare, big insurance, or big pharma. The majority of Americans are sick of it. It's a shame they can't do business without taking such advantage of their customers. They're not too big to fail, our government leadership are too weak to put any real pressure on them. I'll be glad when the old, sold out guard is gone. Maybe we will have a chance to move forward under younger leaders with new ideas and strength.

[IndepTex20]

"We're going to move forward on health reform. We're going to do health care reform this year," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat."

Funny, even after the Mass. election DirtyHarry doesn't get it. Too bad..............the fall elections will show the Libs. how much the voting public hates their reign of tyranny!

[jsellnyc]

Would you agree with former Congressman and President of Truth In Government's Joe DioGuardi:

"DioGuardi commented on what he felt were the most critical mistakes Obama made during the first year of his presidency:"

? Healthcare: ?He allowed Congress to write the bill without specifying the provisions required for him to consider signing it. Instead, special interests got to weigh in and weigh the bill down so that few have read it and Congress essentially has to start over.?

? Bailouts: ?He should have understood that bailouts were only the first step toward recovery. Since no one conducted any due diligence before billions were poured into banks and AIG, the bailouts needed to be followed by monitoring and oversight by a new fiscal commission. Then the very next focus should have been jobs and recovery.?

? Earmarks: ?During his campaign, Barack Obama repeatedly promised to eliminate earmarks,? but has done next to nothing to put an end to the practice.

Seems like the Obama's agenda for healthcare is now hopeless. http://******/dAKiAy

[debcalvert]

A single payer system is obviously what's needed. But can't we also reform healthcare in the areas REALLY NEEDED? Like nursing homes who give politicans blood money?

A public corporation, Sun Healthcare Group Inc, aka SUNH, gives money to politicians through their P.A.C., for which I've asked them all to return, since it is blood money that came from my mother's death and other patients who died when Sun violated a California State Injunction in 2003. The Dept of Justice turned a blind eye and never fined or punished Sun for these deaths. Why? Political corruption.

I've asked the Grand Jury and Orange County DIstrict Attorney to indict the CEO of Sun Healthcare Group Inc, Rick Matros for perjury, obstruction of justice and manslaughters this month, January, 2010.

Read my blog site at
http://www.sunhealthcaregroupinc.blogspot.com

Deborah Calvert
Newport Beach, California

[debcalvert]

Oh and P.S. The CEO of Sun contributed $25,000 to Obama's inagural festivities in January, 2009! I've also asked the President to return that blood money.

Profits earned from the deaths of five patients Mr. Obama!

[starving1968-2]

by rightbehind January 29, 2010 11:06 AM EST
We need to get rid of the phony baloney health care insurance market. We need to go single payer to protect the jobs of those who actually provide a service to the patient. Health care cost could be cut by 1/3 if we got rid of them.






I'm a major beneficiary of the current system, and I couldn't agree with you more.

[Jason_Clearbrook]

No, we need to get rid of anti-trust exemptions for Health Insurance Companies. We need to abolish (make illegal) all laws that impede competition across state lines. We need tort reform. These things most Americans agree upon. (check the polls -- they say it all) Universal Health Care? Nope! (Public Option has some support -- IF you phrase the question in the incorrectly leading way and suggest that it will *not* lead to people losing the choice to stay with their current insurance -- a point that flies in the face of how the Public Option is being truely structured!)

There are other things that can be done, and not many oppose everything. The Democrats want to do too much with too big a price tag (paid at the State Level and individual premium level with their smoke and mirrors gag that is not working now that we've caught one) They may be doing it for good reasons (with their heart n the right place) or they may do it for evil power grabbing self servitude (making yet another velvet trap -- addicting yet more people to the Mother State) but the end result is not what most americans want and what a large nunber see as even imoral!

So, the Democratic Socialist Dream is dying. Life support is failing. All is as it should be in this case. There was not any real effort on the part of the Democrats to include the Republicans in any of this. So this failure is the Democrats to own!

Don't get me wrong. The current bills both do some things right. They just do too much wrong, and the pill is not one America is willing to swallow at this time. Do what everyone can agree upon or do nothing at all. It shuold have bbeen that from the begining. Instead of burning bridges, Pelosi and Reid (and even Obama) should have been building bridges, to the Republicans, instead of to the special interests that they supported from the very begining. Look at campaign contributions of the Health Care Industry. Who got their money? Huh, it was the Democrats, go figure? Why are they so happy with either version? Mandatory Insurance for all. No effective controls. An even better monopoly!!!

[rightbehind]

Where's the investigative reporting on the acorn kid?? The guy who's truth will set you free has damaged an organisation that helped the disabled and elderly to vote. Liberal media??

[starving1968-2]

by retm-w January 29, 2010 10:27 AM EST
starvin1968_2

Don't hold your breath on keeping great benefits. Our city and county just cut employee health benefits effective Jan. 1st due to a decline in taxes.
And the insurance companies will charge whatever the market will bear, just like the oil companies. Doctors and hospitals raised their rates to make up for the reduction in what medicare pays.






The tried to do it to us already, but our union fought them since it's contractually mandated, and the court sided with us.

[rightbehind]

We need to get rid of the phony baloney health care insurance market. We need to go single payer to protect the jobs of those who actually provide a service to the patient. Health care cost could be cut by 1/3 if we got rid of them.

[apostasyusa]

Maybe if we would'a just let weirdo Republican freaks have their ten commandments on the sidewalk none of this would'a happened....eh?

[rightbehind]

Get rid of the phony baloney health care insurance market. We need to get rid of it to protect the jobs and wages of those that actually provide a service to the patient.

[rightbehind]

The health care system will probably crash in the next 5 years because of the phony baloney health care insurance market. It eats up 1 of every 3 dollars spent on health care and provides no service to the patient. We need to get rid of it to protect the jobs of those that actually provide a service to the patient.

[starving1968-2]

Let the insurance companies crash the system.

The conservatives will come RUNNING to the democrats, BEGGING them to do something about it when that happens!

[rightbehind]

The conservatives will come RUNNING to the democrats, BEGGING them to do something about it when that happens!
by starving1968

Your idea plays into their hands. They have been trying to tank the US Government for years. They spend like drunken sailors when they have control and try to privatise everything. For the health care system to fail would mean that medicare will have failed. That will enable them to set up the corporate kingdoms. Divide and conquer. Everyone will suffer except the upper royalty. Their time will be short lived. The people at that time will know exactly who to blame, themselves and conservative ideology. It's not going to be pretty.