Well, I guess it is not over with efforts to improve the bill.
The Senate's healthcare bill is fatally flawed, a senior Democrat atop a powerful committee said on Wednesday.
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Rules Committee and co-chairwoman of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, said that the Senate's bill is so flawed that it's unlikely to be resolved in conference with the bill to have passed the House.
"The Senate health care bill is not worthy of the historic vote that the House took a month ago," Slaughter wrote in an opinion piece for CNN's website.
The Hill
Congresswoman Slaughter:
Washington (CNN) -- The Senate health care bill is not worthy of the historic vote that the House took a month ago.
snip
But under the Senate plan, millions of Americans will be forced into private insurance company plans, which will be subsidized by taxpayers. That alternative will do almost nothing to reform health care but will be a windfall for insurance companies. Is it any surprise that stock prices for some of those insurers are up recently?
I do not want to subsidize the private insurance market; the whole point of creating a government option is to bring prices down. Insisting on a government mandate to have insurance without a better alternative to the status quo is not true reform.
By eliminating the public option, the government program that could spark competition within the health insurance industry, the Senate has ended up with a bill that isn't worthy of its support.
cnn.com: A Democrat's view from the House: Senate bill isn't health reform
We need to improve this bill. Thank you Congresswoman Slaughter.
She concludes:
Supporters of the weak Senate bill say "just pass it -- any bill is better than no bill."
I strongly disagree -- a conference report is unlikely to sufficiently bridge the gap between these two very different bills.
It's time that we draw the line on this weak bill and ask the Senate to go back to the drawing board. The American people deserve at least that.
cnn.com: A Democrat's view from the House: Senate bill isn't health reform
The fight to get a better bill is not over. Keep fighting to improve the bill.
Update I: Senator Bernie Sanders improved the bill through this very tactic. He threatened to vote against the bill, and was able to get concessions as a result such as the Medicaid Expansion. That expansion will make a difference to many people. It's agood thing in my view. That's what Louise Slaughter is doing here as well in her position as Chair of the Rules Committee. You have to play hardball to make change. She is doing it. Alll those stories about the House rolling over without a fight might be Rahm's plants or wishes, but I think the House will fight. Conyers indicate dhe would also the other day. We may not get a public option, but we might get a better bill. A better bill matters to me.
Update II: From TPM, Lee and Woolsey also. Opposition is snowballing among progressives now.
Reps. Woolsey And Lee: Final Bill Must Have A Public Option
moments ago
In a statement released today, Democratic Reps. Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee demanded that the final health care bill must emerge from conference committee with several "key provisions" from the House bill, including the public option.
TPM
More from Lee and Woolsey:
"Now that the Senate is poised to pass its version of a health care reform bill, it is time to turn to reconciling it with the House legislation," California Reps. Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey said in a joint statement Wednesday. "For Congress to achieve true health care reform we must have a meaningful conference process that integrates both bills into the best possible piece of legislation for the American people."
Politico: Lee, Woolsey push for public option
Their top priorities are as follows:
- A public option
- Affordability protections
- Tighter market regulations
- Employer mandates
- Tax surcharges
More details here: Politico: Lee, Woolsey push for public option
Looks like a real conference committtee.
Update III: More from Slaughter courtesy of drdemocrat who had the link from the Plum Line in a comment below.
* But a spokesperson for Slaughter, Vince Morris, confirms she’s not ruling out a vote for the final bill, even if it lacks a public option or other concessions sought by progressives.
"She’s not ruling anything in or out at this point," Morris tells me. "She is hopeful that we can make the bill better in conference."
She knows how to play poker.