President Obama Seeks to Reignite Health Care Debate
Today, the Obama administration released a new health care reform blueprint that seeks to bridge the gap between measures passed by the Senate and House of Representatives last year. The President is hosting a health care reform summit this Thursday, February 25th with Congressional leaders and hopes to use this latest blueprint as a starting pint for future negotiations with regard to overhauling the nation’s health care system.
With the previous healthcare reform proposals in both houses of Congress losing steam after democrats lost a seat in the special election to fill the vacancy from the passing of the late Senator Edward Kennedy, the President has developed a new plan in hopes of reigniting the negotiations over reforming the
As of now, what is known about the new proposed framework is the following:
- If enacted, the president's ambitious plan would constitute the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid more than four decades ago. The White House said it would extend coverage to 31 million Americans.
- Among other things, the White House has indicated the plan would expand Medicare prescription drug coverage, increase federal subsidies to help people buy insurance and give the federal government new authority to block excessive rate hikes by health insurance companies.
- It increases the threshold (relative to the Senate bill) under which a tax on high-end health insurance plans would kick in.
- President Obama's plan does not include a government-run public health insurance option, an idea strongly backed by liberal Democrats but fiercely opposed by both Republicans and key Democratic moderates.
While the NRA continues to take the lead on the ground in Washington, D.C., the CRA will provide a more extensive analysis once legislative language is available.
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