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Nov 6 2009, 2:31 pm by Matthew Cooper

Health Care Vote Might Be Delayed, But It Won't Matter

When are we getting a health care vote in the House? It seemed impossible that with her monster majority, Nancy Pelosi might need to delay the vote beyond Saturday to round up enough support for the House's version of a health care bill. But the Hill is rife with conflicting reports that the vote might go until Monday or Tuesday. Like most kerfuffles, this one won't matter. The Democratic House will pass a bill and that will eventually need to be married to whatever the Senate produces. But the fact that delay is in the air is not a great thing for the process. The conservatives who rallied yesterday on Capitol Hill will take credit for the delay, but in the end there is going to be a bill.

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Comments (6)

mesquito66

In the end, a lot of House Democrats are going to walk the plank for a bill that will die in the Senate. It reminds me of Al Gore's BTU tax.

mesquito66

I a just read the charming provision providing jailtime for refusal to comply with PelosiCare. My modest, high deductable/low premium policy will evidently become a crime. Thanks, Democrats!

Bill Davis (Replying to: mesquito66)

Little mosquito, you're truly whining about nothing.

Yancey Ward

This is all a sideshow, but a lot of people are attempting futilely to portray this vote (today, tomorrow or Monday) as The Big Deal. It isn't. If it is such a battle to get 218 votes in the House, then this is the ultimate proof that no bill will be able to pass both houses. This issue is dead until after the midterm elections. At that point, you may be able to craft a useful compromise (I doubt it, but it might at least be plausible).

ottovbvs

1) It wasn't delayed and passed
2) Dream on:
mesquito66
Yancey Ward

TycheSD

Wonder why the AMA and the AARP support the House bill? They were bribed.

http://www.newsmax.com/morris/healthcare_reform_bribe/2009/11/08/283349.html

"The American Medical Association (AMA) was facing a 21 percent cut in physicians' reimbursements under the current law. Obama promised to kill the cut if they backed his bill."

"The AARP got a financial windfall in return for its support of the healthcare bill. Over the past decade, the AARP has morphed from an advocacy group to an insurance company (through its subsidiary company). It is one of the main suppliers of Medi-gap insurance, a high-cost, privately purchased coverage that picks up where Medicare leaves off. But President Bush-43 passed the Medicare Advantage program, which offered a subsidized, lower-cost alternative to Medi-gap. Under Medicare Advantage, the elderly get all the extra coverage they need plus coordinated, well-managed care, usually by the same physician. So more than 10 million seniors went with Medicare Advantage, cutting into AARP Medi-gap revenues.

Presto! Obama solved their problem. He eliminates subsidies for Medicare Advantage. The elderly will have to pay more for coverage under Medigap, but the AARP -- which supposedly represents them -- will make more money."