Thread: Nervous Democrats explore their healthcare options

Nervous Democrats explore their healthcare options

John Whitesides and Donna Smith
WASHINGTON
Tue Jan 19, 2010 1:32pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic leaders nervously pondered their options on Tuesday if they lose a special Senate election that could cost them their crucial 60th vote and plunge the fate of the healthcare bill into uncertainty.

With polls showing Democrat Martha Coakley trailing Republican Scott Brown in Tuesday's special Massachusetts election, Democrats struggled with the harsh reality that President Barack Obama's sweeping healthcare overhaul might no longer have the Senate votes to pass.

The loss of even one Democrat could doom the bill in the Senate, which passed the overhaul on Christmas Eve with exactly the 60 votes needed to overcome Republican procedural hurdles.

Speculation the overhaul, the subject of intense political battles in Congress for six months, could be in trouble drove up healthcare stocks. Shares of the S&P Managed Health Care index of large health insurers rose 3.25 percent in afternoon trading.

Congressional negotiators have been hustling to merge versions passed by the Senate and House of Representatives into one bill that must be passed again by each chamber before it can be signed by Obama.

House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer refused to speculate on what Democrats would do if they lose the Massachusetts race.

One option would be for the House to take up the Senate legislation and pass it without changes, eliminating the need to reconcile differences. Hoyer sidestepped a question about whether House Democrats had the votes to pass the Senate bill.

"I think the Senate bill clearly is better than nothing," Hoyer told reporters.

A loss of only three votes would doom the bill in the House, which passed the legislation on a 220 to 215 vote in November. House Democrats privately question if they have enough support to pass the Senate bill.

Negotiators also could try to hustle the bill through both chambers before the Republican is seated, but that would risk a huge political backlash among an already unhappy public.

Hoyer said it was feasible Congress could pass the bill within the 15 days it could take Massachusetts officials to certify the special election results.

Another possible approach would be a parliamentary procedure called reconciliation that allows the Senate to approve budget-related issues with a simple majority of 51 votes. That would require scaling back the bill and eliminating many essential elements, including insurance industry reforms.

Democrats also could give up the fight, with pressing issues like job creation and the economy looming ahead of November's congressional elections. But having come this far, few Democrats expect that.

"We are moving forward, we are not done," Hoyer said of the negotiations.

Both bills would extend insurance coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans, create exchanges where individuals can shop for insurance plans and bar insurance practices like refusing coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions.

(Editing by Eric Beech)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6 ... 22&sp=true

I hate that ideology that something is better than nothing. Evil is Evil period.