Health care reform is beginning to feel like a season of Project Runway. What’s true on the catwalk also holds on the Senate floor, where one day you’re in and the next day you’re out.
Out is the creation of a public health insurance plan (at least in the Senate), and a related compromise that would have allowed those aged 55-64 to buy into Medicare. The move should make at least one white-haired man from Connecticut happy, but potentially at the expense of some of his more liberal peers.
In is a proposal to fill the prescription drug donut hole faced by seniors in Medicare Part D. The move should make many white-haired people (and future white haired people) happy, particularly the AARP. The change won’t come until conference, so for an idea of what this might look like, take a look at the House bill which would raises the threshold at which the coverage hole begins by $500 and phases out the gap by 2019.
As for other provisions, the jury’s is still out. Strict limits on medical loss ratios (the amount of premium dollars an insurance company must spend on medical claims) seem headed for the chopping block, while it looks like the package of freshman cost control amendments is getting serious consideration. The fate of a proposed network of non-profit plans managed by the Office of Personnel and Management seems unclear, as does changes to how the SCHIP program is currently treated in the legislation. Potentially contentious votes on prescription drug importation are scheduled for this evening.
Senate Democrats held a caucus last evening to get all their health care ducks in a row. Today they’ll meet at the White House where President Obama will try to keep those ducks marching. His message: “this is the ‘last chance’ to pass comprehensive reform,” according to Politico. Five key organizations -- AARP, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Consumers Union, Families USA, and SEIU -- announced a joint press conference for Wednesday to keep the pressure on.
While we imagine health reform’s season finale will be fierce, we’re confident the Senate can find a way to “make it work.” If not, we'll be left with a "hot mess" of problems.
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