President Obama on Monday will post online his latest proposal to reform the nation’s health care system, three days before a bipartisan summit on the subject.
The plan, according to White House and congressional officials, will do little to appease Republicans he has invited to participate in the Thursday event. In fact, Democrats are planning to bypass the GOP completely in the Senate by using a process known as reconciliation normally reserved for passing the federal budget, and requires just 51 votes for passage rather than the usual 60 votes.
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Obama’s proposal, according to Democratic officials, will be based largely on legislation the Senate passed in December, with some tweaks aimed at appeasing House Democrats. The Senate plan would cost about $900 billion, paid for with tax increases and cuts to Medicare. It would mandate coverage for all and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. The fixes would add an additional $200 billion to the tab.
Republicans have agreed to attend the summit, but they are strongly criticizing the event and the notion that the Democrats have agreed on a deal the GOP wholly opposes before the two sides even sit down to talk.
Republicans have demanded Obama scrap the legislation and the plan to pass it with 51 votes.
“To be certain, by using the reconciliation process, the administration makes clear that their promise of bipartisanship is dead,” said House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va.
The White House has pledged to incorporate some Republican ideas, but it’s unlikely to be enough to convince any GOP lawmaker to back the Democratic plan.
Republicans don’t have their own bill but are unified around several key ideas including interstate insurance sales and malpractice lawsuit rules.
Without Republican help, Democrats will have to find enough support within their own caucus to pass their bill, and that may be difficult as the party grapples with low approval ratings and public disapproval of the bill.
In the days following the victory of Republican Sen. Scott Brown in Massachusetts, who campaigned against the Democratic plan, support for the massive health care bill has waned in both chambers, with lawmakers wanting to focus instead on job creation. There are at least a dozen Senate Democrats who could oppose not only the bill’s provisions, but the attempt to pass it with 51 votes..
Senior House Democratic aides said they believe they can round up the votes for passage in their chamber, but they will have to change the minds of many members, particularly vulnerable freshmen and moderates, who in recent weeks said the Brown victory has convinced them the public does not want a health care bill that creates new entitlements, raises taxes or mandates coverage.
The House passed the bill in November by just three votes. Since then, not only has support waned, but the caucus has lost two “yes” votes through the retirement of Robert Wexler of Florida and the death of John Murtha of Pennsylvania.
