Obama Outlines Healthcare Strategy at Fundraiser

by GoozNews ~ 05 Feb 2010 08:55am

A jobs bill will go first, but then Congress will return to health care legislation, according to the Prescriptions blog on the New York Times website. David Herszenhorn writes:

Congressional Democratic leaders and the White House have been groping for a way forward on the health care legislation. Their main strategy seems to be to work on devising changes to the Senate-passed health care bill that could be attached to a budget measure, which would allow it to be approved by a simple majority. The House could then approve both the Senate bill and the changes and send them in tandem to Mr. Obama for his signature.

Jon Cohn on the New Republic's Treatment blog outlines what he thinks will be in the budget reconciliation compromise:

  • Further reducing the benefits tax, either by further delaying its implementation or raising the threshold at which it begins;
  • Replacing that money by increasing the Medicare tax on unearned income and bigger reductions in subsidies to private insurers that serve Medicare patients;
  • Slightly improving the affordability protections and filling in part of the Medicare drug benefit gap, by further reducing payments to the drug industry;
  • Eliminating special deals like the government's agreement to cover Nebraska's expansion.