President Pushes Congress To Not Drop Health Care Reform

Published: Thu 28 Jan 2010

Lucas Eichmann

President Obama acknowledged Wednesday that he hasn't done a good job of explaining to Americans the complexities of his health care reform package, leading to the legislation sitting in limbo. But he asked lawmakers attending his first State of the Union address to continue looking for common ground on the issue.

"Do not walk away from reform," Obama said. "Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people."

Obama listed the highlights of his proposal such as offering affordable insurance to many of the uninsured, maintaining a choice of doctors, preventing most people from being denied coverage because of preexisting conditions, and trimming the budget deficit. However, he offered Congress members no methods or timetable for achieving his wishes.

There had been an earlier chance that Democrats had enough votes to override Republican opposition to the measure. But last week's loss of their party's 60th Senate seat in a Massachusetts election leaves Democrats wondering what to do.

With primary season and midterm elections approaching, time is not on the side of the Democrats. However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi doesn't see her party giving up. "I don't see that as a possibility," she said. "We will have something."

There are two options for achieving a comprehensive reform package but neither would be easy. In one scenario, Senate Democrats would use a special budget-related procedure that requires only 51 votes to change the measure so it is acceptable to the House.

Add to that Pelosi's seeking changes in the Senate version totaling $300 billion over a decade, a senior Democratic aide said. The new version would include reducing a tax on costly insurance plans and closing the gap on Medicare prescription coverage gap. Pelosi's latest idea unveiled Wednesday is passage of smaller bills featuring the more popular proposals while she continues negotiating with the White House and the Senate for comprehensive legislation.

In the other option, the president and his supporters would endorse a scaled-down version of the bill that would also be backed by Republicans and political independents. Although not all residents would get medical coverage in this plan, it would resolve some of the major issues consumers have with their health insurance now and assist small businesses in getting coverage.

That still may not get support of all House GOP members. Some of them Wednesday endorsed a "Declaration of Health Care Independence" supporting no new requirements and legislation that's fully funded.