Senator Ben Nelson got as much lucre for Nebraska as he could, and with Joe Lieberman, killed the public option. He also appears to have obtained an abortion compromise that would allow states to opt out of abortion coverage, which would result in huge swaths of the USA free from non therapeutic abortion insurance if the bill passes in current form. From the story:
Under the new abortion provisions, states can opt out of allowing plans to cover abortion in insurance exchanges the bill would set up to serve individuals who don’t have employer coverage. Plus, enrollees in plans that do cover abortion procedures would pay for the coverage with separate checks - one for abortion, one for rest of health-care services....
Instead of a public option, the final product would allow private firms for the first time to offer national insurance policies to all Americans, outside the jurisdiction of state regulations. Those plans would be negotiated through the Office of Personnel Management, the same agency that handles health coverage for federal workers and members of Congress.
Starting immediately, insurers would be prohibited from denying children coverage for pre-existing conditions. A complete ban on the practice would take effect in 2014, when the legislation seeks to create a network of state-based insurance exchanges, or marketplaces, where people who lack access to affordable coverage through an insurer can purchase policies... And all insurance companies would be required to spend at least 80 cents of every dollary they collect in premiums on delivering care to their customers.
I still oppose the bill because of the rationing boards, cuts in Medicare funding, etc., and I am not happy with the Feds grabbing power in this area. Also, very careful scrutiny will be required of the mischief to be done by the regulatory bureaucrats.
But I must say, given the way things looked last July, this is a tremendous victory against full government takeover of health care in what appeared then to be a hopeless cause. Moreover, the attempt to shove this down the nation’s throat without any regard for the will of the people has really hurt the political Left. So, while the deal’s not done, and bad stuff will probably be put back in during the conference between the House and Senate—but no further bad things taken out—things could have been much worse.
Questions: Will the pro life Democrats vote for less than Stupack total ban on abortion coverage? If not, the bill won’t pass. If so, it will. Will left wing Democrats just play along after seeing the dramatic changes moderates secured in exchange for their support? Maybe not. The Left stopping the bill in its tracks may be the next surprise twist in this ongoing poliltical saga.
