WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Amid heated public
debate, lawmakers could opt for a watered down version of U.S. President Barack
Obama's health care reform bill, experts said.
The White House signaled Sunday that it may drop the
legislation's "public option" -- a government run plan for free health coverage
-- sending Congressional Democrats reeling and setting the stage for a political
dust up after the August recess.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
said the Obama administration did not consider the public option an "essential
element" of the health care overhaul, despite Obama's previous contrary
statements.
While members of Congress vowed to continue pushing
for the option, experts said they may end up compromising with Republicans, who
favor an alternative.
Advocates have trumpeted the public option as a
solution to America's health care woes -- millions of Americans are uninsured --
while others have criticized it as a costly government intrusion into people's
lives. And that sentiment could make it difficult for Obama to muster the votes
needed to pass the legislation, experts said.
Henry Aaron, senior fellow at the Washington,
D.C.-based Brookings Institution, said Democrats in Congress may ultimately seek
middle ground. "I think they will moan and groan but unless they can show
they've got the votes to pass it, they'll go along with it," he said. "Most
elected officials would rather succeed through compromise" than accept flat-out
defeat, he said.
Still it is possible the administration could make a
third or fourth quarter comeback on the issue. "We'll find out when members come
back in September," he said.
Dean Baker, co-director at the Washington, D.C.-based
Center for Economic and Policy Research, said lawmakers are likely to pass a
bill but may have to seek a happy medium on the public option.
"It's still better than a 50-50 chance that something
will pass," he said. "Rather than go down in defeat (Obama) is looking to
salvage what he can."
At present garnering the 60 votes to pass the
legislation looks like an uphill climb, he said. And while the House could
refuse to vote yes on the bill without the government insurance plan, "that's
pretty unlikely at this point," he said.
Still some Democrats vowed to push for the public
insurance plan, which former Democratic Party chair Howard Dean said is crucial
to any health care legislation.
"I don't think it can pass without the public
option," he said on CBS' This Morning, a TV talk show. "There are too many
people who understand, including the president himself, the public option is
absolutely linked to reform."
Congressional Democrats continued to argue for that
plan, setting the stage for a row within Democratic Party ranks once the August
recess ends.
"If the president thinks we're gonna get the votes
without the public option, he's got another think coming," said Rep. Anthony
Weiner, D-NY, to ABC News. "That won't pass the House."
The Congressman said some Democrats felt betrayed
after supporting the president and faces harsh criticism from constituents.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Monday echoed
Democrats' concerns when speaking in favor of a public option, which she said
would promote competition and broaden consumer choice.
"As the president stated in March, 'The thinking on
the public option has been that it gives consumers more choices and it helps
keep the private sector honest because there's some competition out there,'" she
said. "We agree with the president that a public option will keep insurance
companies honest and increase competition."
Some said a recent spate of nationwide town hall
meetings in which constituents voiced their concerns to members of Congress
--sometimes shouting them down -- was a partial reason for the White House's
change of heart.
"My initial reaction was that it would work against
them," Aaron said, but added that the reverse occurred.
Baker said: "The Townhallers derailed any serious
discussion of the issue." But other factors played a role as well, he said.
"The press hasn't helped but Obama didn't stand up
and press the case," he said. "He did a couple of times but he really had to go
out and pound the pavement," he said, adding that the president should have
ensured key supporters were blanking the nation to stir support.
The White House indicated that it might accept a
health care cooperative system, although no one is sure what it would look like.
Conservatives, who oppose the public option, criticized the idea, saying that
the co-op is just another version of the original plan. Conservatives favor
legislation that would take the federal government out of the equation, or at
least minimize its role.
Nina Owcharenko, deputy director of the Center for
Health Policy Studies at the Washington-D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, said
reform should be state-based -- rural states face different problems than
densely populated ones -- instead of federal.
Among other recommendations, she said Congress should
provide tax relief for those who purchase their own coverage and help low-income
individuals and families purchase private insurance. Financing the plan should
not rely on tax increases or "unproven savings from Medicare and Medicaid that
may never materialize," she said.
Using funds from those programs is one possibility
Democrats have batted around to pay for the estimated 1 trillion dollars reform
bill.
CHICAGO, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden used a campaign fundraiser in Chicago Thursday to cast the 2010 elections as a do-or-die moment that could potentially derail the Obama administration's agenda on health care, energy, education and several other critical issues.
According to Chicago Tribune report, Biden was speaking at a meeting attended by 150 Democratic Party supporters of freshman U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson inside the chic Custom House restaurant in Chicago.
U.S. President Barack Obama and his two
children, Malia and Sasha, prepare to board Air Force One before departing
Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington for Montana, Aug. 15, 2009.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack
Obama began a tour Friday to sell his health care reform plan in the country's
west.
At a town hall-style meeting in Belgrade, Montana, in
the afternoon, Obama defended his plan and reiterated pledge not to raise taxes
on those making 250,000 U.S. dollars or less a year. Full story
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Facing mounting
opposition to his health care reforms, U.S. President Barack Obama seeks to sell
his plan by speaking at town hall meetings this week.
U.S. President Barack Obama holds a town
hall meeting about healthcare at the Broughton High School in Raleigh,
North Carolina, July 29, 2009. Photo Gallery>>>
While critics say public opposition is such that
lawmakers may not be able to pass the legislation, others say the heated debate
will galvanize the president to do anything he can to push through the bill. Full story
CHICAGO, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- A rally was
held in downtown Chicago Tuesday to show support for U.S. President Barack
Obama' s health care reform.
The rally was organized by Chicago Democratic leaders. Illinois
Governor Pat Quinn, Treasurer Alexi Giannoulis, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis and
several state lawmakers were among those firing up the Democratic base of
organized labor and liberal advocacy groups gathered at Federal Plaza in
downtown Chicago. Full
story
