Slow But Steady For Senate Health Bill

No one has ever accused the Senate of doing anything quickly. And so it is with the Senate Finance Committee's consideration of Chairman Max Baucus's health overhaul measure.

Wednesday marked the sixth day of deliberations on the bill, which Baucus noted was the longest the panel has spent on a single measure in more than a decade and a half.

But as the amendments continue to pile up, it's becoming more and more clear that the measure is heading towards ultimate approval, if not by the end of this week, then next week for sure.

In just the past 24 hours, members managed to fend off changes to the bill equally sought by the left and the right — all of which would upset the delicate balance Baucus has been trying to maintain to gain the elusive 60 votes needed to choke off that talk-a-thon in the Senate known as a filibuster.

 

On Tuesday, Democrats took one on the chin when the panel rejected two separate efforts to add a government-run public plan to the list of options that individuals and small businesses could choose from in a new health insurance "exchange."

Baucus voted against the amendments, saying for the umpteenth time he didn't think there were 60 votes in the Senate for a bill that includes a public plan.

Wednesday it was the Republicans' turn to be disappointed. They wanted stronger language in the bill to ensure that no federal funds would be used for abortion, and stronger protections against benefits going to illegal immigrants. In both cases, those bases were already covered, Democrats argued, and the amendments were rejected on largely party line votes.

Correction: The original version of this post said the committee defeated an amendment by Sen. Bill Nelson to continue to allow seniors to deduct medical expenses in excess of 7.5 percent on their income taxes. That amendment passed. The committee did defeat an amendment to allow all tax filers to continue to deduct medical expenses in excess of 7.5 percent. For taxpayers under age 65, that threshold will rise to 10 percent, starting in the year 2013.