Moderate Democrats Push for Health Care "Trigger"
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is including in his health care bill a government-run health insurance pan, or "public option," from which states can opt out. But the legislation is not expected to pass without the support of moderates in the Democratic caucus, like Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who remain opposed to a public option.
To get past that divide, those moderates are reportedly scheming to build support for a proposal to "trigger" a public option in the event that the private insurance market has not met certain goals for reform after a number of years. The "trigger" idea, first put forward by moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine), is adamantly opposed by liberals who argue the trigger would never be pulled.
"There's a possibility that [triggers could make a comeback]," Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) reportedly said. "Right now, we don't know what the actual version of the plan is, because it hasn't come back from CBO...so I think when we get that back, we'll take a look and see what the scoring is, and maybe figure out what chance that plan has to get enough votes. My expectation is that it probably doesn't have enough to get 60 votes to get off the floor if it gets on the floor."
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) is working with Snowe to revive the trigger idea, the Washington Post reports.
"What we have to move forward thinking about is, as the president has said, people keeping what they have if they like it, having more choices, reforming the private market," Landrieu said. "And if we can achieve that through private-sector reform, that's wonderful. And if not, then there should be a mechanism that basically, I guess, guarantees it, which would be a well-crafted trigger."
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As the Post points out, moderates have other qualms with the health care bill, such as the level of protections in place for small businesses and fees levied on medical-device manufacturers. The divisions within the party have contributed to the delay of the Senate's progress on health care.
If legislators included a public option "trigger" in their final bill, it would be a few years before they seriously considered enacting a public option. After that, it would take at least a few more years to get the program up and running.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are searching for ways to make their health care legislation kick into action more quickly, the Hill newspaper reports.
"Is it a problem? Yes, it's a problem," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) reportedly said about the number of years it would take to see the benefits of the bill. "People expect something will happen, and then nothing happens."
The House is also grappling with this problem and is promoting a list (PDF) of 14 provisions that would take effect immediately after health care reform were passed.