Saying lawmakers have come too far on health care to turn back now, President Obama on Wednesday unveiled his version of Democrats’ massive health-care overhaul with a few GOP ideas tacked on, urging congressional leaders to press ahead with or without Republican support.
Mr. Obama paved the way for Democrats to use a controversial parliamentary tactic that would allow them to push a bill through with a simple majority, arguing that both chambers have already passed versions of the legislation, which he said deserves an up-or-down vote in the next few weeks.
“Every idea has been put on the table; every argument has been made,” Mr. Obama said in a speech before an audience of health care professionals in the East Room of the White House. “So now is the time to make a decision about how to finally reform health care so that it works, not just for the insurance companies, but for America’s families and businesses.”
Mr. Obama’s new proposal appears to differ only slightly with the plan the White House announced last week, though he said it reflects the best ideas of both Republicans and Democrats.
Mr. Obama challenged Republicans to vote against the plan, saying they should do so if they support less regulation of the insurance industry, which Democrats have repeatedly held up as the chief antagonist in the nation’s health system. He also took aim at the minority party for advocating an incremental approach, contending that only a comprehensive bill could bring down health costs and improve quality.
“The problem with that approach is that unless everyone has access to affordable coverage, you can’t prevent insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions; you can’t limit the amount families are forced to pay out of their own pockets; and you don’t do anything about the fact that taxpayers end up subsidizing the uninsured when they’re forced to go to the emergency room for care,” he said. “Health reform only works if you take care of all these problems at once.”
Republicans have repeatedly urged Mr. Obama to start over, and again he rejected those calls, saying there is no point in doing so given the deep divisions between the two parties on the issue.
Notably, Mr. Obama did not use the term “reconciliation” — the procedure by which Democrats can pass a bill in the Senate with 51 instead of 60 votes — referring to the process instead as a vote by a “simple majority.”
Though the GOP used the tactic when they were in power to pass both Bush tax cuts as well as welfare reform under former President Clinton, they have vehemently opposed its use on health care, saying that the American people have spoken out against the bill in a number of opinion polls as well as a slew of recent elections.
Seeking to claim the mantle of bipartisanship, Mr. Obama’s proposal threw a few bones to Republicans by including ideas on combating waste and fraud as well as additional funding for state pilot projects aimed at resolving malpractice cases outside of court.
In addition, he noted that he took out two of the special carveouts for Florida and Nebraska, which he acknowledged were only included to secure votes from those states’ Democratic senators. However, he left in the $300 million for Louisiana that Sen. Mary Landrieu secured to help the state cover Medicaid costs.
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