Obama Open to Compromise as Senators Balk At Public Health Tactic
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel met last night at the U.S. Capitol with Senate Democrats and told them Obama is “open to alternatives” to a new government insurance program in order to get legislation overhauling the health-care system to his desk, said Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota.
“His message was, its critical that you do this,” Conrad said.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana said Emanuel urged the senators to seek Republican support and didnt discourage them from pursuing the use of non-profit cooperatives, an idea Conrad has proposed.
Emanuel was unavailable for comment after the meeting. There was no immediate response to an e-mail to the White House seeking comment.
The question of whether to provide consumers with a public option to compete with private insurers lies at the heart of the health-care debate. The idea has drawn fire from Republicans and insurers, who say the governments unlimited power to borrow money would allow it to charge lower premiums for more coverage, pushing insurers out of business. Some Republicans say they would consider a non-profit alternative.
Democrats Concerned
Reluctance toward the “public option” also has been voiced by Democrats such as Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, and Mark Begich of Alaska.
Even Senator Dianne Feinstein, who backs public insurance, says Congress is moving too fast and should consider the impact of one proposal, expanding the Medicaid government program for low-income people. That would add as much as $5 billion to the annual health-care bill of her state of California, she said.
“The state is barely keeping its head above water right now,” Feinstein said in an interview on Monday. “There are big questions to ask and answer before we get ourselves in another entitlement.”
Tool of Discipline
Obama yesterday called the public option “an important tool to discipline insurance companies.”
Yet Obama, who has been pressing lawmakers to send him a final bill by October, also said hes willing to entertain lawmakers ideas. “We have not drawn lines in the sand other than that reform has to control costs and that it has to provide relief to people who dont have health insurance or who are uninsured,” the president said.
In a bid to rein in the cost, Senate Finance Committee members have cut about $400 billion from a version of the legislation theyre considering, which the Congressional Budget Office last week calculated would run to $1.6 trillion over 10 years, said Conrad, a panel member.
Most congressional leaders prefer the public option, with Representative Henry Waxman of California saying it will give insurers an incentive to keep costs down and treat customers fairly. Waxman and other panel chairmen in the House of Representatives last week circulated draft legislation that would include a public-option plan modeled after Medicare, the governments health-insurance system for the elderly.
Public Support
The American people back such a plan. A New York Times poll released last week showed 72 percent support for publicly sponsored health insurance.
Still, part of the unease among some Democratic lawmakers is the lack of a specific proposal for the public alternative. The term public option “means certain things to different people,” said Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas. “I just dont know what it is yet because I am not sure the Finance Committee has told anybody what it is.”
Nelson said competition from a government-run plan may “destabilize the market” resulting in “the dilution of the private plans” that serve 200 million Americans. “We should be trying to focus on how you help” 46 million uninsured Americans “not on how you destabilize health insurance for 200 million.”