Is Pres. Obama Tired Of Health Care Reform Fight?

Sources: ABC News, The Daily Beast

McCain Fires Back At Franken, Defends Lieberman

View Larger Map


Sources: C-Span, Town Hall.com, Youtube, Google Maps

GOP's Defacto Leader: Senator John McCain

Despite losing the 2008 Election to Pres. Barack Obama, Republican Senator John McCain's status remains elevated within GOP circles. In fact his "Political Star" appears to be rising higher & higher.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

View Larger Map

Sources: MSNBC, The Daily Beast, Google Maps

Dems Reach "Agreement" On Health Care Reform, Next CBO's Report

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Reid: Dems reach "Broad Agreement"



Senate Democrats have reached a "broad agreement" on a health reform bill, Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday night — a plan that would replace the public option in the current Senate bill with a new national insurance plan offered by private insurers, and a chance for older Americans to “buy in” to Medicare.

Democrats on Tuesday night took a major step forward on a plan by agreeing to ask congressional scorekeepers to give them cost estimates on a possible compromise that would break the impasse over health reform in the Senate.

In doing so, Senate negotiators moved decisively away from including a government-run health insurance plan that would start on Day One in any final compromise, a major disappointment for the Democratic base but one that is likely to prove necessary to win over fiscally moderate senators.

Instead, Democrats are considering including a “trigger” that would allow a public plan to kick in – but only in the event that private insurers didn’t step up and offer policies for the new national health insurance plan, which seemed unlikely.

To win over liberals disappointed at losing the public option, Democrats would allow older Americans starting at age 55 to buy into Medicare, the popular program for the aged. The Medicare expansion would be a significant victory for Democrats, who spent years pushing for it. The proposal would in effect create a public health insurance option for older Americans, since Medicare is government-funded and government-run.

If the Senate reaches a compromise based on these principles, it would set up a major clash with the House, which included a pure public option in a bill passed last month. Some House progressives, like Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), have been critical of the Senate’s national plan idea, calling it “a "whitewash" and "not even reminiscent" of the public option.

The broad outlines of the Senate deal had been discussed for days, but Democrats emerged from a closed-door session about 8 p.m. with news of the breakthrough. Some were reluctant to call it a deal until hearing back from the Congressional Budget Office about how much the proposed new provisions would cost.

“This is a consensus that will help insure that the American people win in a couple different ways. One, insurance companies will certainly have more competition. And two, the American people will certainly have more choices," Reid told reporters in the Capitol, but refused to divulge details of the agreement.

“Not everyone will agree to every piece we sent over there,” Reid said. “But believe me that we've got something that's good...it moves this bill way down the road."

Reid also disputed that the public insurance option would be eliminated under the proposed agreement, but he did not elaborate.

The state “opt-out” public option in the current Senate bill is no longer in play. But the group sent a proposal to the Congressional Budget Office for the public option “trigger,” according to people familiar with the talks.

The group also reached a consensus to expand access to Medicare, allowing people 55 to 64 to purchase coverage in the program. Details of who would be eligible within that age group were unclear Tuesday.

The “buy-in” period could kick in as early as 2011 – three years ahead of when the larger set of reforms would begin – although the coverage for the interim period would not be subsidized.

The national insurance plan would be administered by the same federal agency that oversees the respected Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. But the insurance options within that plan would be offered by private, nonprofit entities.

There was movement towards placing tighter regulations on the insurance industry. At the top of the list was a proposal from Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) requiring insurers to spend at least 90 percent of premium money on medical care, rather than on administrative costs or profits.

The agreement also includes a proposal from Rockefeller to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which was set to expire in Oct. 1, 2013.

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) was described by sources as one of the last holdouts within the room on the public option. He released a statement Tuesday indicating that he has not signed onto the proposal.

“While I appreciate the willingness of all parties to engage in good-faith discussions, I do not support proposals that would replace the public option in the bill with a purely private approach,” he said. “We need to have some competition for the insurance industry to keep rates down and save taxpayer dollars. I will base my vote on the bill on the entirety of what is in the bill, and whether I think the bill is good for Wisconsin.”

Other key progressives did not respond as critically.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who supports the need for a public option, said: “Do I like it? No, but I'm going to support it to the hilt.”

On MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” Tuesday night, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), perhaps the most ardent public option booster, said the proposal was a “tradeoff.”

Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, had repeatedly called for the bill’s defeat without a pure public option. But on “Countdown,” he said the Medicare expansion was a “big deal.”

The Senate breakthrough came as the clock was already winding down on Reid’s hopes of getting a bill done by Christmas. He had told negotiators – five liberal and five moderates – that he needed a deal by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.

Reid credited Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) with helping the group of 10 complete what the majority leader called an "impossible job."

With a deadline imminent, Democratic senators had scrambled Tuesday to break a months-long impasse over the public option, but stubborn political obstacles emerged as details of the possible compromise took shape.

As quickly as the outline of an agreement seemed to emerge Monday, parts of it had fallen away by Tuesday afternoon — the casualty of opposition raised by moderates. At the same time, progressive senators were still resisting pressure to give up entirely on the public option, while some moderates were balking at the trigger, according to an official briefed on the meetings.

There was also pressure not to further expand a proposal from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) that would allow states to negotiate with private industry to provide group coverage for low-income people. The bill limits states to negotiating for people who earn up to twice the federal poverty line.

By Tuesday evening, the group was no longer considering opening Medicaid to people with incomes 150 percent above the poverty line, according to senators involved in the talks. It faded as a realistic option amid concerns among moderates and many governors that it would put too much of a burden on state governments, which pick up a portion of the coverage costs.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who is still being wooed by Democrats, expressed strong skepticism toward another key element, the expansion of Medicare to people between 55 and 64. She said she was concerned the bill would rely too much on government to fill gaps in insurance coverage that the private sector should handle.

Reid said he had not spoken to Snowe since the Democratic group concluded its talks.

An added difficulty was the Senate’s rejection Tuesday of an amendment by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) to strengthen restrictions on federal funding for abortion coverage. He has said he would filibuster the bill if it didn’t provide adequate restrictions but Tuesday would only say that the defeat of his amendment “makes it harder to be supportive.”

“I had no Plan B, and I’m not looking for a Plan B,” Nelson said.

Nelson said he would look at any compromises on the abortion language that were presented to him but does not plan to work on one himself. Nelson continued to participate in the public option talks, but it was unclear Tuesday night if he had signed onto the “broad agreement.”

Earlier in the day, Snowe was highly skeptical of a proposal to expand Medicare and Medicaid — signaling that her support for an emerging public option compromise will be difficult to secure.

Democrats have been hopeful they could attract Snowe’s vote for a final health reform deal and gain a little breathing room in trying to reach 60 votes. But Snowe said the latest proposals on the table would take the legislation in the wrong direction, adding more government involvement at a time when voters want less.

“My deep concern is about the breadth and scale of this legislation, taking it in a more expansionistic approach for government’s role rather than the reverse,” Snowe told reporters. “You can design incentives in this legislation to maximize the power of the marketplace in making sure the industry performs.”

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), another undecided moderate who opposes any version of the public plan, hasn’t been participating in the meetings. But his staff is present, and he speaks with Schumer every day, Lieberman told reporters Tuesday.

He said he is encouraged by a proposal to remove the public option and replace it with a national nonprofit insurance program administered by a federal agency. Regarding Medicare and Medicaid, Lieberman said he needed to examine the additional costs.

Both the American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals sent alerts to its members Tuesday urging them to call senators in opposition to the proposals.

“Remember that we worked hard to successfully and significantly change the House bill so its public option was not entirely based on Medicare rates, but largely negotiated rates, and in the Senate we worked to ensure that the Finance Committee bill has a nonprofit, nongovernmental public option based on negotiated rates and not tied to Medicare or Medicaid,” read the alert from the American Hospital Association.

“Adding millions of people to these programs at a time when they already severely underfund hospitals is unwise and should be opposed.”


Sources: MSNBC, Rachel Maddow Show, Politico

Olympia Snowe Backpedaling On Public Option

No Snowe for the holidays?


Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who is still being wooed by Democrats on health care, was highly skeptical of a proposal to expand Medicare and Medicaid — signaling Tuesday that her support for an emerging public option compromise will be difficult to secure.

Democrats have been hopeful they could attract Snowe’s vote for a final health reform deal and gain a little breathing room in trying to reach 60 votes. But Snowe said the latest proposals on the table would take the legislation in the wrong direction, adding more government involvement at a time when voters want less.

“My deep concern is about the breadth and scale of this legislation, taking it in a more expansionistic approach for government’s role rather than reverse,” Snowe told reporters. “You can design incentives in this legislation to maximize the power of the marketplace in making sure the industry performs."

Already, one of the areas of Snowe’s concern — an expansion of Medicaid to cover more of the uninsured — is fading as a realistic option in the bill, senators said, amid concerns among moderates and many governors that it would put too much of a burden on state governments, which pick up a portion of the coverage costs.

West Virginia Sen. John Rockefeller, one of the leading Democrats calling for a public option, said there is "not a lot" of discussion anymore on expanding Medicaid to people at 150 percent of the poverty level. Rockefeller said he is seeking other concessions, including boosting the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

"Some senators are a little less enamored about that," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said of Medicaid expansion.

The Medicaid expansion was viewed as trade-off for liberals who were disappointed that the public option is falling out of the bill. An expansion for Medicare is still under serious consideration because it’s easier to control the costs by controlling who can “buy in” to the program.

Snowe spoke with reporters after she left a private meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), steps away from the room where five moderate and five liberal Democratic senators were in negotiations to break a deadlock over the public option.

The group met for almost three hours Tuesday in hopes of reaching an agreement by the end of the day and plans to meet again Tuesday. Reid needs to keep the process moving along if he hopes to keep the bill on track for passage by Christmas.

Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) said the group is still committed to reaching an agreement.

"We do have a framework, a general framework that we're working on in terms of how something might be structured, but certainly we understand that time is of the essence," Pryor said. "We want to get it done right, but we also understand that we're under some time constraints."

Added Rockefeller: “All in all, I have to say we are in a pretty good place right now. You can see a kind of overarching sense of ‘Well, yes, let’s do this,’ but we have to see what the (Congressional Budget Office cost estimate) is.”

Snowe has not attended the meetings, but she has remained in close contact by Reid and been briefed by Pryor, Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.).

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), another undecided moderate who opposes any version of the public plan, hasn’t sat in on the meetings either. But his staff is present, and he speaks with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) every day, Lieberman told reporters Tuesday.

He said he is encouraged by a proposal to remove the public option and replace it with a national nonprofit insurance program administered by a federal agency. Regarding Medicare and Medicaid, Lieberman said he needed to examine the additional costs.

“I want to make sure that we're not either adding a big additional burden to the Medicare system, which we gotta figure out how to save anyways because it's going bankrupt,” he said. “But again, these are trade-offs."

Snowe would not say she is opposed to the proposed compromise as long as it includes the Medicare and Medicaid expansions. But she said she expressed concerns to Reid about the Medicare “buy in,” which would allow people between 55 and 64 to purchase coverage in the popular insurance program for the elderly.

“It just adds a potential for exponential uncertainties with respect to the Medicare program,” Snowe said. “In addition to that overall is adding to the weight of the providers through lower reimbursements. That is obviously a persistent problem. Now you are adding more to that equation — 2 or 3 million more Americans at a time when you are having lower reimbursements.”

Both the American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals sent alerts to its members Tuesday urging them to call senators in opposition to the proposals.

"Remember that we worked hard to successfully and significantly change the House bill so its public option was not entirely based on Medicare rates, but largely negotiated rates, and in the Senate we worked to ensure that the Finance Committee bill has a nonprofit, nongovernmental public option based on negotiated rates and not tied to Medicare or Medicaid," read the alert from the American Hospital Association.

"Adding millions of people to these programs at a time when they already severely unfunded hospitals is unwise and should be opposed."

Snowe said she was not aware of the proposal to expand Medicaid coverage to individuals with incomes 150 percent above the poverty line, up from 130 percent. But she was highly critical of the idea when talking to reporters.

“It is a huge burden on the states,” Snowe said.

Schumer said a pure Medicaid expansion is not the only option under discussion.

“There are different things you can do on the Medicaid end of things,” Schumer said.



View Larger Map


Sources: Politico, Google Maps

Abortion Amendment Rejected! 54-45...What's Nelson's Next Move?

(Politico) Senate rejects Nelson abortion amendment


The Senate rejected 54 to 45 an amendment to tighten restrictions on federal funding for abortion, casting doubt on the future of the Democratic health reform bill.

The amendment’s sponsor, Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, threatened to filibuster the legislation if his amendment failed. The question now is whether Nelson continues working with Democratic leadership both on his abortion concerns and as a member of a coalition of liberal and moderate senators trying to bridge their differences on the public option.

"What happened tonight makes it harder to be supportive. We'll see what happens," Nelson said after the vote.

Nelson said he isn't going to work with Reid on a compromise, "I had no Plan B. I'm not looking for a Plan B, but others may be," he said, adding, "I always listen to the leader if the leader had something to say."

In recent days, Nelson had signaled a willingness to continue talks as has Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who needs Nelson’s vote to pass reform through the chamber.

“If the Nelson amendment fails, I'm happy to work with him on this. If he doesn't succeed, I'm happy to work with him on something else,” Reid said before the vote.

Nelson told POLITICO last week that he would not walk away from the negotiations if the Senate rejects his amendment. “No, no, no. I’m a facilitator,” he said. “If this bill is going to pass without me, I still want it to be the best bill.”

The amendment would have prohibited federal funds from paying for abortion. It prohibits the public option from covering abortion and blocks consumers from using subsidies to purchase a health insurance policy that covers abortion.

Update: Democratic Sens. Bayh, Casey, Conrad, Dorgan, Kaufman, Nelson and Pryor voted in favor of the amendment. Republican Sens. Snowe and Collins voted against it. And Democratic Sen. Byrd did not vote.




(Washington Post) Senate rejects Nelson amendment on Abortion


The Senate narrowly rejected an amendment that would have restricted abortion coverage in the pending health-care bill, leaving in question whether Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) has the 60 votes needed to move the bill toward final passage.

The measure, which failed 54-45, addressed the scope of restrictions on coverage of abortion services for people who receive subsidies to buy insurance. The outcome was expected, but could cost the support of Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who has threatened to filibuster the $848 billion bill unless abortion restrictions are tightened.

Reid told reporters earlier Tuesday afternoon he would consider other language to allay Nelson's concerns. "If in fact he doesn't succeed here, we'll try something else," Reid said.

The vote came amid intense final negotiations on the bill, as Reid aims to wrap up debate on amendments and begin a long procedural stand-off with Republicans -- possibly extending 10 days -- before the bill can come to a final vote before Christmas.

Nelson also is participating in talks to establish an alternative to the public insurance option, and said he would continue to negotiate with Reid and his colleagues on the overall bill. "People are talking," he said before the abortion vote. "And that's usually a good thing."


Sources: Politico, Washington Post, The Daily Beast

Abortion & Public Option Debates, "Gang Of 10", Harry Reid

Public option and abortion loom for health care reform. A compromise is being considered on the public option and a vote expected on the Sen. Ben Nelson’s abortion amendment. Politico’s Jim Vandehei discusses.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tom Daschle says Public Option won't derail Health Care Reform.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Harry Reid tasks 10 Senators to find Public Option fix


The fate and shape of the public option in the Senate health care bill now rests in the hands of ten Democratic senators: five moderates and five progressives whose views span the spectrum within the Democratic caucus. The group had several closed door sessions over the weekend, but most of its members have been uncharacteristically tight-lipped on their negotiations.

"I'm not going to get into any details of any type," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., following a meeting Sunday night. "Nobody in that room, neither me nor any of the others have signed off on anything."

Majority Leader Harry Reid said he tasked the group "to work things out" on the public option and other issues. The moderates are: Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., Mary Landrieu, D-La., Ben Nelson, D-Neb., Tom Carper, D-Del., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark. The liberals are Schumer, Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Russ Feingold, D-Wisc.

"We have had a really intense three hours of discussion and we are not there yet by any stretch of the imagination," Schumer told reporters, "but we're finding a good deal of give and take that leads to common ground."

Nelson said trying to find that "common ground" on a public option fix was proving to be "a very difficult challenge."

"There are some [in the group] who truly believe that you need a robust public option," he said. "There are some who would favor single-payer. And it extends, perhaps to me, who thinks it should be done at the state level."

"That's a pretty wide gap to try to bridge," he added.

The group of ten lawmakers is expected to meet for another round of negotiations Monday.

President Barack Obama addressed the full Senate Democratic caucus in a closed meeting on Capitol Hill, just a few hours before the group of 10 negotiators began their meeting.

But, according to one senator, the president did not even utter the words 'public option' or address the rift it has spurred within his party.

Adding more pressure on the group of progressive and moderates is Majority Leader Reid's self imposed deadline of finishing the bill this year.

Later this week, Reid is likely to take the first of three procedural steps to bring the bill to final passage, according to a Democratic leadership aide. Those steps will require Reid to muster 60 votes to break filibusters that target various parts of the bill and could take at least nine days to complete.

Beyond the procedural hurdles and the public option feud, Reid may still have other 60 vote thresholds to cross. "Even if we came to total terms on [the public option], I still have some other concerns that have to be dealt with as well," Nelson said.

An amendment offered by Nelson and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch placing tighter restrictions on federal funds being used on abortion could get a vote as early as Monday.

In an illustration of how sensitive the public option talks are within the new Group of Ten, when Landrieu emerged from the Sunday night meeting and began talking to reporters, Schumer followed behind her with a loud reminder.

"I wouldn't say we're close [to a deal]" Landrieu started to tell reporters who swarmed her.

But Schumer quickly told her and other group members within earshot, "The one thing I forgot to say is we're not going to say much to the press."



Sources: MSNBC, Politico, WSJ

Democrats Mull Temporary Medicare Expansion...Appeasing Senior Voters

Dems weigh temporary Medicare Expansion


Urgently seeking a deal on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, Democratic senators are considering opening the Medicare rolls to uninsured middle-aged people able to purchase the coverage.

The Medicare "buy-in" for people 55 to 64 would be available until government subsidies start flowing in 2014 to new health insurance markets designed for people who now have trouble getting and keeping affordable coverage.

Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said the idea is on the table as part of an emerging compromise under which liberals would back away from their demand for a new government health insurance plan to compete with private carriers. Instead of a so-called public plan, the compromise envisions private insurers operating under the auspices of the government agency that now manages the federal employee health plan — the same one that covers members of Congress.

But Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe — one Republican who may vote for the Democrats' bill — raised a warning flag. "I'm not sure ultimately what is the purpose" in broadening Medicare coverage, she said.

Also under discussion is a proposal from liberals to allow early Medicare enrollment on a permanent basis for middle-age people participating in new insurance markets called exchanges in the bill. Americans who buy their own coverage or work for small businesses would be able to buy insurance in the exchanges starting in 2014, gaining access to a range of plans. Most would receive government subsidies. A Democratic official described the proposal on condition of anonymity because no decisions have been made.

The Democratic negotiators — five liberals and five moderates — are under pressure to reach at least a tentative deal by Tuesday. The 'public option' now in the bill — a government-run plan that states could opt out of — is unacceptable to moderates whose votes Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., needs to pass a bill embodying Obama's signature issue.

A companion idea also under discussion — expanding the Medicaid program to cover more low-income people — appears to have run into opposition from moderates.

Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky ridiculed the Democrats' late-innings re-engineering, and suggested adding more people to Medicare could undermine the program's already shaky finances. He called for Democrats to scrap the bill and start over.

"Americans would rather get it right than scurry around throwing together last-minute untested experiments to get 60 votes before Christmas," McConnell said.

Medicare now covers seniors 65 and older, as well as disabled people of any age. People in their mid-50s are among the most vulnerable to losing coverage, particularly in an economy where employers are still cutting jobs. But buying into Medicare would not be cheap. A current buy-in available to those 65 and older who don't qualify because of work history costs about $550 a month.

The latest public plan idea bears little resemblance to the original proposed by liberals, and embraced by Obama, during the 2008 presidential campaign. That called for the government to sell insurance to workers and their families in competition with industry giants like UnitedHealthcare.

But instead of Medicare-for-the-masses, it would be Blue Cross Blue Shield or Kaiser Permanente, albeit with a government seal of approval from the department that handles the health plan for federal employees, including members of Congress. The Office of Personnel Management — OPM — would become an instantly recognizable federal acronym, like FDA and CDC.

"It's probably the closest proposal thus far that could get the support of 60 senators. It's got legs," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee.

Negotiators worked on the compromise Tuesday as the Senate debated the 10-year, nearly $1 trillion bill. A vote on an amendment to tightly restrict abortion coverage by health plans receiving federal subsidies could also happen Tuesday.

The possible deal has drawn a wary reaction from liberals, who support a Medicare-like approach.

The idea being the emerging compromise is for the government to lend its seal of approval to private plans that would be offered across the nation. The plans would be available through new state insurance markets, called exchanges. New markets would create big purchasing pools for those who now have trouble finding and keeping affordable coverage — people buying their own insurance and small businesses. Most of the 30 million consumers in the exchanges would have government subsidies to help pay premiums.

Any insurer could approach the federal personnel office to offer a plan in the exchanges, but the plan itself would have to be nonprofit. Most Blue Cross plans are still nonprofit, as is Kaiser, the giant health maintenance organization. OPM and the plans would negotiate premiums and coverage terms.


Sources: MSNBC

Public Option Is Slipping Away...Compromise Only Hope

Reid: Obama pledges to help pass health reform. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that President Obama pledged to work with Senate Democrats to help pass a health care overhaul, in their closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill. Watch his news conference.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Republicans: Heath care bill "Partisan". Senate Republican leaders say President Obama's health care overhaul has become a closed-door, partisan effort that is aiding drug companies and other medical providers. Watch their news conference.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Chances shrink for pure Public Option


Senate Democrats in search of a health reform compromise Sunday zeroed in on a new alternative to a government-run insurance plan – signaling that the chances a final bill will include a pure public option are diminishing.

The new idea — for the government to create a national health insurance plan similar to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan – seemed to gather momentum as the weekend went on, and the differences between liberals and moderates on the public option became even clearer.

The proposal would take the place of a new government insurance plan currently included in the Senate version of the bill, according to officials involved with the negotiations.

The plan would be administered by the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the federal plan for members of Congress, and all of the insurance options would be not-for-profit offered by private companies.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), a public option opponent who is participating in the talks, said the new proposal would do away with the government insurance program in Majority Leader Harry Reid’s current bill, which allows states to “opt-out” of a public option.

“Seems to me it would be in lieu of the public option,” Nelson said. He also said Reid’s “opt-out” idea “is no longer being talked about.”

If the Senate goes in this direction, the challenge for Reid (D-Nev.) is framing this alternative as an acceptable compromise for progressives. Politically, the idea holds appeal for moderates, who have opposed establishing a new government insurance plan, but might also satisfy liberal demands for more choice and competition to private insurers.

“The proposal under consideration can be said to provide access to the same type of insurance plans that members of Congress and federal employees get. People think of that as government health insurance; progressives could portray this in the same vein,” said a Democratic Senate aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations. “But moderates can simultaneously point to the fact that the government isn’t the payer and say competition was enhanced without growing the government.”

That feature – that the plan would offer policies similar to those members of Congress get – could prove a potent selling point for members of Congress to their constituents back home.

Progressive senators emerged from a three-hour negotiating session Sunday night declining to comment. Asked if the public option has been taken off the table, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) said: “I’m not going to respond to that one.” Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) would say only that he was hopeful a deal could be reached Monday.

Aides familiar with the negotiations said the meetings are not focused solely on the public option, and that senators who want the public option are seeking other concessions, including stronger regulation of the insurance industry.

There is also discussion of including a public option "fallback" provision, which would trigger a government health plan if private insurers did not choose to take part in the program — an unlikely outcome.

Jacob Hacker, a Yale University professor who originated the public option concept, posted a blog item on The New Republic website titled “You Call This a Compromise?” He said the latest crop of alternatives, including the plan modeled after the federal employees’ health program, represent “abandonment of the public option altogether.” It appears to be nothing more than a new kind of insurance exchange, which is already in the bill, he said.

And Timothy Jost, a health-law expert at Washington and Lee University School of Law, wrote on POLITICO’s Arena that replicating the federal employees’ health plan “was the dumbest idea yet.” Nonprofit insurance plans currently dominate the market, and they haven’t reduced the cost of insurance, he wrote.

The group directed their staff to work through the night on the proposals in preparation for what could be a key meeting Monday afternoon.

“You have people of very diverse and strong views who are making a real effort to come together,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a public-option supporter who has become an intermediary between liberals and moderates. “But people have strong views and we’ll have to see where people end up.”

Progressives are represented by Feingold, Harkin, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.). The moderate side is represented by Nelson, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.), and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.).

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), a public option opponent, did not attend the meeting but his staff was present.

The group came together only in the last few days, representing the first time in the months-long process that key liberals and moderates sat at the same table.

Earlier Sunday, President Barack Obama paid a rare weekend visit to the Senate as the talks heated up. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden called on Senate Democrats to set aside differences and pass legislation by the end of the year. “They’re doing great; they’re going to get it done,” Obama said as he departed the 45-minute closed-door meeting in the Mansfield Room.

On Sunday night, with progress being reported, the senators ordered Chinese food from Schumer’s favorite restaurant, Hunan Dynasty on Capitol Hill, and at one point, they turned on the Giants-Cowboys game. Senators later attributed raucous applause heard from the hallway to the football game, not a sudden breakthrough in the talks.

Reid said he had personally asked five moderates and five progressives to work things out on the issues that they care about, including the public option and small business coverage. “Progress is being made, and that’s not just talk. We’ve made a lot of progress,” Reid said.

“There are still a few things we have to work out [in] the bill, and the issues are being narrowed as we speak. We’re working toward a consensus. We’re not there, but we understand how important it is that we arrive at a consensus, and we’re going to do that just as quickly as we can.”

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said there are several options on the table that liberal and conservative Democrats are considering in order to strike a deal on the public insurance option in the health care debate — and that negotiations are still ongoing.

And Durbin, who is a big supporter of the public option, is very much open to striking a deal.

“I’m looking for an alternative that creates competition for the health insurance companies,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Reflecting on the moment, Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) said that Democrats should be able to get a bill done when they have a Democratic president and a pair of congressional majorities. “We've got to get this done in order to demonstrate we can get something this substantial done, even in a difficult economy and a difficult political environment,” he said.

Reid doesn’t have much wiggle room if he expects to finish the bill by Christmas.

Under the best-case scenario, Reid could reach a tentative deal on the public option during the first half of the week and send the revised plan to the Congressional Budget Office for a cost estimate, which is likely to take several days.

Once he receives the estimate, Reid would seek firm commitments on votes, which he will want to lock in before taking the procedural steps necessary to cut off debate on the bill. Aides say the goal is to start taking those procedural steps by the end of this week.

Democrats would then need to hold together 60 senators on three procedural votes and three votes on the bill. The votes could unfold over a roughly nine-day period, ending just before the Christmas break.

Democrats remain seriously concerned about Nelson, who is considered less likely by Senate aides to vote for the bill than are Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Lieberman, whose interests align more closely with the caucus. As long as the public option is sufficiently tailored to their liking, Snowe and Lieberman can likely be persuaded, aides said.

Snowe met with Obama on Saturday, and the two discussed her “trigger” proposal, under which a public option would kick in if private insurers didn’t adequately expand coverage. Snowe also met with moderate Democrats on the floor, and they plan to continue talks Monday. Snowe, however, is not part of the talks among Democratic liberals and moderates

Nelson is a tougher case. He has not only taken an uncompromising position on abortion, demanding stronger language to prohibit federal funding of abortion. He has also voted against all but one Democratic amendment so far, aside from those that received unanimous support from the body. Nelson’s voting record on the bill suggests a general dislike for key aspects of it.

Nelson’s position could become clearer after an expected vote this week on his anti-abortion amendment. Nelson has said he will not compromise, but he also signaled Friday that he wouldn’t do so until after the vote.

With Nelson as a wild card, the need to win over Snowe and Lieberman become all the more important — and that means progressives will be asked to make serious concessions on the public plan.

Obama’s visit came ahead of a busy time in his schedule that could make another Capitol Hill visit difficult, with a pair of trips to Europe for the Nobel Peace Prize and the Copenhagen climate summit. Then he’s scheduled to depart for Hawaii shortly before Christmas.

Despite repeated calls from lawmakers for more direction, Obama has picked his spots over the last 11 months. He has taken significant steps – a visit to the Hill, a major speech, a private meeting at the White House – only when he and his aides considered them necessary.

But given the decisions Reid needs to make in the coming days, Sunday may prove to be a pivotal moment.

Along with Obama and Biden were Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton, senior adviser David Axelrod, health care “czar” Nancy-Ann DeParle, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and chief legislative liaison Phil Schiliro.

The only speakers, senators said after, were the president and Reid.

“We're really pretty much staying out,” said Sebelius when asked if the administration would take a side on the negotiations over the public option. “The discussions are really among the members of the Senate.”

Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) said Obama “said it would be the greatest legislation since FDR passed Social Security."

Lieberman, who is open to supporting the bill so long as it does not include a public option, noted that Obama didn’t bring up the idea: “He didn't. I don't think he once talked about the public option. He didn't. That's what I'm saying. I thought it was interesting.”

Reid, asked about the comment, responded, “the President didn't say a lot of things. Senator Lieberman said that to me after the meeting also, but that doesn't mean it's not an issue because the President didn't talk about it.”

But Lieberman said even the benefits of health reform legislation wouldn’t outweigh his concerns about a public option enough to vote for the bill if that provision stays in.

“No!” Lieberman told reporters. “That’s exactly what I’ve been saying to my colleagues who are pushing for the public option. This bill has so much good in it, and it does so much good — it’s deficit neutral and all the rest. Why are you insisting on getting a foot in the door for single-payer?”


Sources: Politico, MSNBC

Obama Visits "The Hill", Urges Dems To Speed Up Health Care Debate

Reid: Obama pledges to help pass health reform. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that President Obama pledged to work with Senate Democrats to help pass a health care overhaul, in their closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill. Watch his news conference.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Pres. Obama visits Capitol Hill to hasten the Health Care Bill debate.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obama pushes health bill in Capitol visit


President Barack Obama appealed directly to senators' desire for history-making change and their short-term political fears Sunday in urging them to stand together and overhaul the nation's health care system.

At the request of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Obama made a trip to the Capitol during a rare weekend legislative session to ask rank-and-file Democrats to work for compromise and do it quickly. Vice President Joe Biden joined Obama for the closed-door meeting.

Greeted by applause, Obama spoke for 45 minutes and took no questions, according to several lawmakers. He highlighted the progress he said his administration has made on jobs, and focused on the implications for remaking a health care system that represents one-sixth of the economy.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said Obama described the health care bill as the "most significant social legislation in decades so don't lose it."

Issues narrowed

weekend session as he races to finish the 10-year, nearly $1 trillion bill by Christmas. The legislation would provide coverage to more than 30 million additional people over the next decade with a new requirement for nearly everyone to purchase insurance. There would be new marketplaces where people could shop for and compare insurance plans, and lower-income people would get subsidies to help them afford coverage.

The federal-state Medicaid program for the poor would grow, and there would be a ban on unpopular insurance company practices such as denying coverage based on medical history.

With midterm congressional elections looming next year, Democrats are determined to revamp health care, achieving a long-sought goal that has proven elusive for decades.

"In short, he (Obama) pledged to work with us in any meaningful way that he can. .... There are still a few things we have to work out in the bill, but issues are being narrowed as we speak," Reid told reporters after the meeting.

Obama and Reid must unite liberals and moderates in the 60-member caucus, even as moderates balk over abortion and the option of government-run health insurance. Sixty is the precise number needed to overcome Republican stalling tactics in the 100-member Senate, so Reid doesn't have a vote to spare.

"I think if we don't deliver, we've got a problem," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., when asked on a Sunday talk show about the political consquences for Democrats should they fail to produce a bill.

Moderate and liberal lawmakers met throughout the day Saturday to try to find a compromise on the government insurance plan that they could all support and that could also potentially attract Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, the one Republican to vote for the Democrats' health overhaul bill in committee.

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., the second-ranking Senate GOP leader, said that right now his party remained united against the Democratic bill, which he complained would "get the government very deeply involved into health care at an enormous expense."

A new idea being discussed was national nonprofit insurance plans that would be administered by the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the popular Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, a key centrist Democrat, was enthusiastic about the idea, which she's proposed in different forms in the past. "I think it bodes well for being able to do what we want to do, which is to create greater choice and options in the marketplace," she said.

‘We have compromised enough ...’

Liberals were cool to the proposal, holding out for a fully government-run plan.

"I'm willing to talk to anybody about anything but they haven't sold it yet," said Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. "We have compromised enough on the public option."

Someone will have to give. But despite the apparent divide, lawmakers and White House officials sounded increasingly optimistic.

"It's going really well. They're having a lot of really productive meetings," Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, told reporters in the Capitol Saturday. "It's about where it should be at this point in the legislative process."

Liberals were cool to the proposal, holding out for a fully government-run plan.

"I'm willing to talk to anybody about anything but they haven't sold it yet," said Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. "We have compromised enough on the public option."

Someone will have to give. But despite the apparent divide, lawmakers and White House officials sounded increasingly optimistic.

"It's going really well. They're having a lot of really productive meetings," Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, told reporters in the Capitol Saturday. "It's about where it should be at this point in the legislative process."

While negotiations continued behind the scenes, the Senate rejected a Lincoln-sponsored amendment to limit the tax deductions insurance companies take for what they pay their top executives. The vote was 56-42 on a measure that needed 60 votes.

Lawmakers also voted down a measure by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., to limit plaintiff lawyers' fees in medical malpractice cases, a politically fraught issue that pits Republicans against Democrats. The vote was 32-66.

The House passed its version of a health care bill last month. The competing versions would have to be reconciled before sent to Obama for his signature.

A busy schedule limited Obama's opportunities to speak directly to senators as they work to complete the legislation. The president will be in Oslo on Dec. 10 to accept the Nobel Peace Prize and then plans to attend climate change talks in Copenhagen shortly thereafter. Obama heads to Hawaii on Dec. 23 for Christmas.

Feinstein and Kyl spoke on CNN's "State of the Union."


Sources: MSNBC

Medicare Funding Cut! Billions Taken From Seniors...AARP Supports

Dems shoot down GOP amendment to restore Medicare funding



Democrats held fast Saturday against another Republican attempt to restore funding for a Medicare program facing cuts in the Senate healthcare bill.

During a rare weekend session, Senate Democrats blocked a GOP move to restore about $42 billion in funding for a home healthcare Medicare program. Democrats argued that the cuts wouldn't affect Medicare patients' quality of care and would make the home healthcare benefit stronger by forcing it to be more efficient.

The amendment received the support of 41 senators, most of whom were Republicans. A floor amendment to the healthcare bill needs 60 votes to be adopted.

Republicans have sought to portray the approximately $460 billion worth of Medicare cuts in the healthcare bill as evidence that the Democrats' plans will put seniors' healthcare at risk.

"What will happen is that these programs will disappear because they'll go in the red because of the cuts these Democrats are proposing," said Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), the sponsor of the amendment that was rejected Saturday.

On Thursday, Republicans offered an amendment blocking all proposed Medicare cuts, but it failed on a largely party-line vote.

Democrats have pushed back against the GOP strategy by noting that the AARP supports the Medicare reductions, which will help pay for the rest of the healthcare reform legislation. Democrats accused Republicans on Saturday of standing in the way of healthcare proposals that will help all Americans, including seniors.

"They keep wanting to strip something out, they keep wanting to send the bill back so it ends this process altogether," said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) "But they don't come to the floor of the Senate and show us how we could fix it more effectively and, in fact, serve seniors better rather than just embracing the status quo."

While most of the Democratic conference voted to reject the amendment, a handful of centrist Democrats joined the GOP Saturday. The Democratic defectors were Sens. Evan Bayh (Ind.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Jim Webb (Va.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.).

Republicans see the battle over Medicare as key to winning over public support in their attempts to stop the Democrats' healthcare proposals.

"Every survey anybody has seen on this issue shows that the American people are asking us to stop this bill," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Saturday.

A USA Today/Gallup survey released this week showed that 49 percent of Americans want their members of Congress to oppose the bill while 44 percent of Americans want their lawmakers to support it.

Republicans plan to try to attack the Democrats on Medicare again Sunday with another amendment aimed at the proposed cuts, a senior Senate GOP aide said.

Democrats are countering with their own Medicare-related amendment Sunday. The proposal by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) would limit tax deductions on pay for health insurance executives so that they could make no more than the president, whose salary is $400,000. The savings, which Democrats estimate to be $650 billion over 10 years, would go into the Medicare trust fund.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that Lincoln's amendment and other changes in the healthcare bill will lead to a more efficient healthcare system that covers more Americans.

"The fact is that our bill will, in short, save lives, save money, and save Medicare," Reid said. "It will make it possible for each and every American to afford to live a healthy life. We can't afford not to do this."



View Larger Map


Sources: The Hill, MSNBC, Zimbio, Google Maps

Olympia Snowe Returns To Public Option Bargaining Table

Snowe Rejoins Dems At Public Option Negotiating Table


In a breakthough in Senate negotiations around a public health insurance option, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) sat down with centrist conservative Democrats for the first time Saturday since the bipartisan Gang of Six broke up shortly after returning from the August recess.

Since then, Snowe, the most likely Republican to cross the aisle on health care reform, has been meeting individually with Democrats, but had yet to rejoin negotiations in a formal way.

Snowe, emerging from a meeting on the first floor of the Capitol, Saturday afternoon, told a few reporters hovering outside the room that she had been approached earlier that morning about attending.

She said that no agreement had yet been reached, but that the group was considering "another option," aside from those already under discussion. An agreement had been reached that it would not be publicly discussed, she said, until more details were worked out. Earlier Saturday, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) also mentioned the new option being kicked around but said he couldn't discuss it.

Kerry said that Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) was one of the leading intellectual fathers of this new approach, an assertion Snowe confirmed, adding that Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) were also closely involved.

Sens. Mark Udall (D-Colorado), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) also attended the meeting.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) was not at the meeting and has vowed to filibuster any bill that has any version of a public option. If Lieberman holds to his threat, Democrats would need Snowe to break a GOP-Lieberman filibuster.

Snowe said she was still pushing her "trigger" proposal and met yesterday with Kerry to discuss it. Kerry, she said, has long been open to such a plan. Under her trigger, the public option would only be available in states where private insurance is deemed unaffordable to a certain percentage of residents. Advocates of the public option say a trigger is as good as no public option at all, because it will be gamed by insurance companies so that it never "triggers."

Snowe said Kerry's been in discussions with her about her proposal for months. "[She and Kerry] have, even prior to this, [had discussions] on the Finance Committee about the possibility of a trigger and how it would work and so on," she said.

As the conservative meeting was breaking up, a separate meeting on the Hill began, where liberal Democrats met to discuss their own strategy around the public option.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was also in the Capitol Saturday, but didn't attend either meeting.

"I've talked to a lot of senators and encouraged the good work that's gone on," she said as she left the building and was met by a driving snow. "I know that lots of very positive conversations are underway with lots of members of the Senate and that's just what needs to happen."

President Obama plans to address the Senate caucus on Sunday afternoon, a meeting she said she planned to attend, as well.

HuffPost asked what she thought Obama would tell his party.

"Pass health care," she said.

UPDATE: Conservative Arkansas Democrats Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor joined the liberals on the second floor of the Capitol following the centrist meeting earlier. Snowe didn't join, but said she'd continue talking.

Following the meeting, Pryor declined to get too specific, but did say that a leading proposal involves increasing the ability of the Office of Personnel Management -- which oversees the federal employee health plans -- to negotiate on behalf of individuals and small businesses. Pryor told a HuffPost and an AP reporter that it was unclear how exactly it would be set up, but that it would take the place of the public option managed by the Health and Human Services Secretary.

Lincoln, also interviewed after the meeting, said that the OPM plan would not need additional seed money and would be similar to a proposal she introduced earlier this year called the SHOP Act. She said that she continues to oppose a "government-run plan," but that this proposal would meet the twin goals of keeping down costs and increasing competition. Snowe and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are cosponsors of the SHOP Act.

The Lincoln proposal appears to be the alternative option that the conservatives and centrists discussed at the earlier meeting. Snowe had said the proposal was both old and new and Lincoln's measure answers that riddle.

It does little, however, to answer liberals' demands for a nationwide public option. Pryor said, however, that the progressive senators they met with were willing to continue discussions and cautioned that it would be several days before a deal was reached.

They plan to meet again Sunday evening after Obama departs.



View Larger Map


Sources: Huffington Post, Google Maps

Dems Weigh New Public Option Compromise, Obama To Attend Caucus Meeting

Obama to rally Democrats amid health fight. President Barack Obama will travel to Capitol Hill on Sunday to urge Senate Democrats to remain unified and pass a bill by Christmas. NBC’s Mike Viquiera reports.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Health Care Reform is still under intense negotiations in the US Senate.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Dems weigh new Public Option deal


President Barack Obama will meet Sunday with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill, as a group of moderate and liberal senators weighed a new public option compromise in hopes of striking a deal by early in the week.

The president’s visit comes at the start of what will be a critical week for the health care reform bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will attempt to reach a so-far elusive compromise on the public option, and begin taking the procedural steps needed to pass a bill by Christmas.

As the Senate convened a rare Saturday session, about a dozen Democratic senators continued intensive talks on the public option, with the goal of agreeing on a framework that can garner 60 votes.

There appeared to be serious consideration of a new proposal on the table: a national health plan similar to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan, which provides insurance to members of Congress and federal workers. It would be administered by the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the federal plan, and all of the insurance options would be not-for-profit.

“So in other words, what we got is a national plan that the progressives would like, but that’s where that middle is, we’re trying to find that middle,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).

“There’s sort of a kind of a general agreement on where we’re headed on this thing,” Harkin added.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), a public option opponent who faces a tough reelection next year, said she was encouraged by the proposal.

“It’s one of the things that’s been talked about, and I think it bodes well for being able to do what we want to do, which is to create greater choice and options in the marketplace but also have a downward pressure on premiums on cost ,” Lincoln said. “Those are the dual objectives we've got.”

For what was expected to be a quiet weekend session, Saturday turned into a significant day for senators seeking a compromise on the public option. Moderate and liberal Democrats huddled in the morning, met separately in the afternoon, reconvened around 4 p.m., and left for the evening agreeing to resume talks Sunday afternoon. Senators said they expected to negotiate into the night Sunday.

“We’ll work until midnight or whatever it takes,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.).

The flurry of activity suggests Democrats have reached a new stage in their bid to pass a health care bill. Reid needs to develop some sort of consensus in the next few days if he hopes to pull together a “manager’s amendment” – the vehicle through which changes will be made to the bill – by the end of the weekend.

Obama’s trip to the Hill Sunday is intended to rally the caucus, and remind senators of “all the things where they have agreement,” a senior administration official said Saturday, declining to elaborate on whether he will state preferences on policy during the meeting.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who has been publicly urging the president to get more involved, said earlier on Saturday that Obama should make a strong pitch for the current Senate bill.

"I’d like to hear him push what we’re doing," he said. "I like the bill now the way it is, the president pushing the people who are more reluctant to vote for it, to vote for it."

It’s unclear whether this latest round of public-option talks will produce a result that has remained out of reach. But for the first time in months, Democrats representing every faction of the caucus were sitting at the same table.

The moderate Democrats –Lincoln, Mark Pryor (Ark.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Thomas Carper (Del.) and Mary Landrieu (La.) – attended each session. Harkin, Rockefeller, Brown and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) represented the liberals. Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), another participant, has served as an intermediary between the two sides.

The Senate leadership is still eyeing Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who has maintained regular contact with moderate Democrats in recent weeks. She participated in a separate meeting Saturday of moderates.

“We are going to either find the vertex of where everybody comes together or we are not,” Lincoln said. “It is difficult thing. We are looking for those 60.”

She said she was hopeful, adding “People really want it bad enough.”

Details on the latest proposal for the public option were limited late Saturday. Brown described it as a take-off of the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan. With the Office of Personnel Management as the administrator, the program would be separate from the Department of Health and Human Services, which regulates the insurance marketplace.

“It would be a national, not-for-profit,” Brown said. “(The Office of Personnel Management) would administer it. It would be any number of national not-for-profits that would compete nationally and they would take the place – more conservative members hope – of the public option. They would be in states and be running a kind of lookalike to a public option.”

The nonprofit insurance companies would “go to OPM and say I want to compete and then you show them you’ve got standing to compete,” Brown said.

Existing insurance companies could participate as long as their plan is not-for-profit, he said.

Lincoln said she, as well as Snowe and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), has advocated a similar proposal in the past for small businesses. The Office of Personnel Management has been effective in negotiating affordable premiums and generous benefits in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan – and could presumably do the same under this expanded program, Lincoln said.

“I just think it's a good idea,” Lincoln said. “I've always thought it was a good idea for quite some time now, for years, because it does utilize what we utilize as federal employees, which is volume and a good negotiator with private industry.”

Brown, however, said he is not a convert to the latest proposal. Supporters of the public option have already compromised enough, he said.

"Well, I don't think much of it, frankly, compared to a public option,” Brown said. “I'm willing to talk to anybody about anything but they haven't sold it yet."

Republicans used the weekend session to highlight nearly $400 billion in Medicare cuts to help pay for the bill, forcing Democrats to take politically-difficult votes in favor of spending cuts to the popular program for the elderly.

The Senate rejected an amendment from Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) to eliminate $42 billion in cuts over 10 years to agencies that provide home health care to seniors under Medicare. It went down on a 53 to 41 vote, but four Democrats – Lincoln, Nelson, Evan Bayh (Ind.) and Jim Webb (Va.) – crossed the aisle to join Republicans in supporting it.

In a move that drew Republican criticism, Lincoln initially voted with Democrats opposing the amendment, but switched her vote within the 15-minute window to "yes" after it became clear that the measure would not pass.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) responded with an alternative amendment stating that the new health bill would not reduce guaranteed home health benefits that passed on a 96-0 vote.

Amendments aide, Harkin suggested every senator in the room was open to the negotiations because they all want to pass a bill.

“Oh, we all say strong things around here, but I’ve never seen a senator yet who isn’t willing to compromise,” Harkin said. “We all agree we want a bill and to move forward.”

Rockefeller concurred: “My general view is that those statements have been part of floor conversations, conversations with the press, but when you go into these kinds of things they're less said because there you all are.”

Following an afternoon session, Rockefeller said the group made "more progress than we’ve made in any meeting so far.”

"People are open in ways that they have not been open before," he said. "Sometimes people just out of sheer fatigue can agree to things.”

Senators said they were hoping Obama would provide more direction during their Sunday afternoon caucus meeting.

Harkin said he wants the president “to take leadership, that is what the president is supposed to do, to use his bully pulpit.”

Asked if Obama has done that so far, Harkin said: “I haven’t seen much of it, no.”



View Larger Map


Sources: Politico, MSNBC, Reuters, Google Maps