Shortly after about 7:30 this morning my time (10:30 EDT), the Finance Committee filed 543 amendments to the Chairman's Mark: America's Healthy Future Act of 2009. I believe every member of the health care subcommittee has filed something.
Here's the big one: Rockefeller C7, number 187. Rockefeller's come through for us. He's calling for a public option that gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the ability to negotiate prescription drug prices.
If this gets through intact, it could wind up helping the Finance Committee's bill to be the best of the lot rather than the worst.
If you have Senators on the Finance Committee's Health Care Subcommittee, here's what to tell them to support when it comes before the committee:
Rockefeller Amendment #C7 to Title I, Subtitle C (Making Coverage Affordable) of the America's Healthy Future Act of 2009
The public option that Rockefeller is attempting to insert into the bill is based on the public option from the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, HR 3200.
Another amendment to support, also from Rockefeller, is the next one in the coverage section, #C8:
Rockefeller Amendment #C8 to Title I, Subtitle C (Making Coverage Affordable)
Here, we get a better definition of "affordable" than in any of the bills currently passed out of committee, including anything we've seen from the House. Senator Rockefeller's amendment specifies that maximum out-of-pocket will be based on income rather than a specific dollar amount pegged to Health Savings Account maximums: For those earning under 200% of the Federal Poverty Limit, it's 7.5% of income; for those between 200% and 400% of FPL, it's 10%; and for those over 400% of FPL, it's 12.5%. But this is the maximum out-of-pocket limit not just on cost-sharing, as it is in every other proposal, but on everything. This includes premiums. This is the most you will spend in a year on health related matters, at least for things that are covered.
Those are two of the more important amendments, at least in terms of progressive issues. I'll be updating this for the next couple of hours but then gone for the rest of the afternoon.
Please help with going through and analyzing these amendments, describing the good and the bad. What should we support? What should we work against? This needs to be a collaborative effort if we're going to move fast, and we have to move fast; the next hearing on health insurance reform is an open executive session scheduled for Tuesday, September 22.
The summaries of the amendments can be seen here (warning, PDFs):
Summary of Delivery Amendments
Summary of Coverage Amendments
Summary of Financing Amendments
The full text of the amendments are here (warning, PDFs):
Delivery Amendments in full
Coverage Amendments in full
Financing Amendments in full
Update: I hate begging for recs, but please rec this up so people find out about the amendments. We have a LOT of work to do before Tuesday.
Update 11:30 am: I have to head out; I'm supposed to judge a D&D game. Please keep going through the amendments and posting about them!