Obama Targets Snowe For Bipartisan Backing On Health-care Strategy
Snowe, 62, is the Republican most likely to support Obamas proposed overhaul. After the speech, she said she would have “preferred” that the president reject a government-run plan to compete with private insurers. Still, she said she was heartened that Obama spoke favorably of one of her proposals, a so-called trigger that would activate a public option only if private insurers fail to make coverage affordable.
“I was particularly pleased to hear the presidents proposal will require additional spending cuts if projected savings arent realized,” she said in an e-mailed statement.
Snowe had told the Senate Finance Committees Democratic chairman, Max Baucus of Montana, that she wanted to wait until the presidents speech before deciding, said Senator Evan Bayh, an Indiana Democrat.
Baucus “indicated that he was cautiously optimistic that he might get Olympia Snowes support,” Bayh said in an interview on Fox News yesterday.
Snowes backing could give any health-care bill the critical 60th vote needed in the 100-seat Senate to push through legislation. It also could give the measure a patina of bipartisanship, which might make it easier for a few wavering Democrats to back it.
“She is the person who symbolically at least offers the possibility that whatever gets accomplished can be called bipartisan,” said Ross Baker, a Congress expert at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Gang of Six
Snowe is one of three Republicans negotiating a plan with three Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee, known as the “Gang of Six.” One of the three Republicans, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, assailed Obamas speech, saying the president “passed up a big opportunity” to build bipartisan support.
Snowe also is one of the few Republican senators to show a willingness to work with Obama — she was one of only three members of her party to vote for the presidents stimulus package in February — and the White House has courted her more than any other on health care.
Public Option
On the substance of the overhaul, Snowe and the Democrats may not be far apart. In his speech, Obama made an argument for the public option — which has been one the main targets of Republican objections — while saying it wasnt essential to a final bill “and shouldnt be used as a handy excuse for the usual Washington ideological battles.” He also said Snowes proposal for a trigger was “constructive” and “worth exploring.”
She has called the current system “totally dysfunctional” but has stressed the importance for the private insurance marketplace to remain involved.
Snowe has said she would be open to a national exchange for health-insurance plans, a proposal the White House and some Democrats also are considering, though Obama said last night it would only be available to those without insurance and small businesses. She has said that such a system should be available to companies with more than 50 employees.
Insurance Subsidies
In the Finance Committee, Snowe is also negotiating ways to provide subsidies to low-income individuals to help purchase insurance, with the debate focusing on individuals who earn up to 300 percent to 400 percent above the poverty line. She is also intent on protecting older people from price discrimination by insurance companies.
In addition, she has shown a willingness to consider a federally operated reinsurance program to alleviate some catastrophic health-care costs.
In May, Snowe spoke out against putting a cap on the tax exclusion of employer-sponsored benefits to pay for the measure. In his speech, Obama endorsed an alternative proposal to “charge insurance companies a fee for their most expensive policies.” Snowe had said in the past she was open to such a plan.
Breaks With Party