White House: Dems near accord on health care bill

WASHINGTON – The White House and congressional leaders are preparing a detailed health care proposal designed to win passage without Republican support if GOP lawmakers fail to embrace bipartisan compromises at President Barack Obama's summit next week.


A senior White House official said Thursday that Democratic negotiators are resolving final differences in House and Senate health bills that passed last year with virtually no Republican help. The White House plans to post the proposals online by Monday morning, three days ahead of the Feb. 25 summit, which GOP leaders are approaching warily.

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After the Brown election, I predicted that "Obamacare" was still going to pass, and it looks like I am right. If talks break down between the White House and Republican legislators next week, Democrats plan to use a tactic that is very similar to the "Nuclear Option" planned by Republicans, when Democrats threatened to stall Bush's appointments of judges.

What the Democrats are planning is all legal, but sets a bad precedent. I also predict that it will start a full scale war between Democrats and Republicans on the Hill, in which the GOP will use a "scorched earth" strategy, much like what the Democrats had threatened when Republicans threatened the nuclear option.

The key to the Democrats' strategy is to pass health care under "reconciliation", which would prevent filibusters, by requiring only 51 votes to pass. By doing this, the Democrats also plan to bring back the "Public Option" and pass that through the reconciliation process. This is also legal, because the public option had already been passed by the House.

In my opinion, this is bad, and for the following reasons:

1) It mandates that most Americans purchase insurance. This IS Socialistic in nature.

2) It will add more than a trillion dollars to the deficit over the next decade.

3) It will make steep cuts in Medicare, a program that many Americans have spent a lifetime paying into already.

4) It will put the Federal government in the insurance business, something that it has no business being in.

Now these are my objections to the health care bill, as it looks like it will exist in its final form. To those who disagree with me, please state your reasons.

Finally, let me add this: As things are turning out, it does not matter ONE IOTA what people think, either pro or con. This is going to be a done deal. Think about it when you go into the voting booth this November, and vote accordingly.

Article is here.

This would be the death of a lot of political careers. It might also set in motion a "secession" by many states that could choose simply not to participate at all.

Erod said:

This would be the death of a lot of political careers. It might also set in motion a "secession" by many states that could choose simply not to participate at all.

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I don't see "secession", isn't there an opt-out option for states?

Erod said:

This would be the death of a lot of political careers. It might also set in motion a "secession" by many states that could choose simply not to participate at all.

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Talk of secession need to start now and loud I believe most Texans would welcome it without the incentive Obama Care.

What ever it takes to stop this going ahead needs to be done before it takes root because if they do this the Liberal idiots will next be forcing Cap And Trade on us at which point Obama gets his wish and the economy is sunk for sure and maybe for a generation or until a revolution, hopefully a peaceful one.

danarhea said:

In my opinion, this is bad, and for the following reasons:

1) It mandates that most Americans purchase insurance. This IS Socialistic in nature.

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Hong Kong, the most free market on earth, requires residents to purchase health insurance.

2) It will add more than a trillion dollars to the deficit over the next decade.

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Yeah, probably will do that.

3) It will make steep cuts in Medicare, a program that many Americans have spent a lifetime paying into already.

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The cuts in Medicare have nothing to do with coverage for seniors. They are related to things like over payments on Medicare Advantage, which is nothing but corporate welfare. If we don't cut Medicare, it will be insolvent.

4) It will put the Federal government in the insurance business, something that it has no business being in.

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The Federal Government has been in the insurance business since 1965. Medicare is already the largest socialized health care program on the face of the earth.

I am not a fan of the Democratic healthcare "reform" plan, but I don't think that your particular criticisms of it presented in the OP are very valid.

Councilman said:

Talk of secession need to start now and loud I believe most Texans would welcome it without the incentive Obama Care.

What ever it takes to stop this going ahead needs to be done before it takes root because if they do this the Liberal idiots will next be forcing Cap And Trade on us at which point Obama gets his wish and the economy is sunk for sure and maybe for a generation or until a revolution, hopefully a peaceful one.

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You talk like Obama WANTS to sink the economy. I have a lot of disagreements with Obama, but I will never stoop so low as to claim that he is unamerican, wants the economy to fail, or any other ludicrouos garbage. Despite my feeling strongly that Obama is wrong, I DO realize that he loves this country just as much as I do. I just think his policies are wrong.

danarhea said:

You talk like Obama WANTS to sink the economy. I have a lot of disagreements with Obama, but I will never stoop so low as to claim that he is unamerican, wants the economy to fail, or any other ludicrouos garbage. Despite my feeling strongly that Obama is wrong, I DO realize that he loves this country just as much as I do. I just think his policies are wrong.

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Someone who loves this country would not blow up the way the government works to save his political life.

Maybe would should have believed his wife when she said, in 2008 that this was the first time in her life she was proud of being American.

so much nonsense

the party can't even agree on a compromise to bring to the summit

Obama to Post Health Plan as Democrats Try for Accord (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

of course leadership is gonna SAY things about progress

what would you expect?

we can't do it?

we give up?

reconciliation was never anything more than bluff

first of all, it's budgetary, narrowly

it can't be used to legislate social reforms, like forcing insurers to cover those with pre existing conditions, end rescissions, force portability, mandate individuals to cover themselves, mandate states expand medicaid by 20 million...

a hundred other things

even to get to reconciliation you must pass procedural hurdles that require 60

measures muscled by nuke option must be reupped periodically, the party would find itself fighting this apocalyptic war all over again in 6 months

bottom line---should harry even try for one day to go nuke it would be so ugly, on the floor, it'll make bob mcdonnell actually look pretty to you, chris christie slim

they're gonna go nuke, leadership says so---LOL!

SUMMARY OF THE BYRD RULE

The Prof said:

so much nonsense

the party can't even agree on a compromise to bring to the summit

Obama to Post Health Plan as Democrats Try for Accord (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

of course leadership is gonna SAY things about progress

what would you expect?

we can't do it?

we give up?

reconciliation was never anything more than bluff

first of all, it's budgetary, narrowly

it can't be used to legislate social reforms, like forcing insurers to cover those with pre existing conditions, end rescissions, force portability, mandate individuals to cover themselves, mandate states expand medicaid by 20 million...

a hundred other things

even to get to reconciliation you must pass procedural hurdles that require 60

measures muscled by nuke option must be reupped periodically, the party would find itself fighting this apocalyptic war all over again in 6 months

bottom line---should harry even try for one day to go nuke it would be so ugly, on the floor, it'll make bob mcdonnell actually look pretty to you, chris christie slim

they're gonna go nuke, leadership says so---LOL!

SUMMARY OF THE BYRD RULE

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I didn't know they allowed tea partiers to perform at the Def Poetry Jam. :mrgreen:

danarhea said:

I didn't know they allowed Republicans to perform at the Def Poetry Jam. :mrgreen:

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I think next year, this forum needs to get together and try to get The Prof a speaking gig at CPAC.

SouthernDemocrat said:

Hong Kong, the most free market on earth, requires residents to purchase health insurance.

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So does Taiwan. However, neither has the high quality of health care that the United States has.

As for other posters talking about succession. That is absurd and silly. With the exception of the thirteen original states, the land acquired by the United States was acquired by a direct result of treaties signed by the FEDERAL government of the United States. That makes the legality of succession suspect at best.

A better tact would be for states to band together and insist the federal government live by the rule and spirit of the tenth amendment to the United States Constitution.

danarhea said:

I didn't know they allowed tea partiers to perform at the Def Poetry Jam. :mrgreen:

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well, there's a mindless little comeback

but it doesn't alter the fact that the party, which can't come together on a compromise for the summit (LOL!), is NOT able to pass even minor SOCIAL reforms using reconciliation

even if pelosi (LOL!) says otherwise

Republicans have been calling this healthcare summit, a televised meeting where they are highly encouraged to bring their ideas to the table for open negotiations, doing exactly what they've been asking for all along, "a trap."

Republicans keep saying they've been shut out, that the administration doesn't really want bipartisanship.

We took out the public option.
We took out the "death panel" clause despite it being nothing of the sort.
We changed the language regarding illegal aliens, despite the bill already prohibiting funds being used for those in this country illegally.
We added the across-state-lines selling of insurance.
We added a requirement for each state to address malpractice lawsuits. AKA tort reform.

All of these were Republican ideas. Demands made that Democrats gave in to.

Now the Republicans are getting another demand: televised, transparent negotiations for all Americans to see.

And they have the nerve to keep saying that they're being shut out, and that this is "a trap." The only way its a trap is if you guys actually have no helpful ideas.

How much more ground should the Democrats give before they just say "**** it, these people have absolutely no intention of governing."

Last chance, Republicans. We've been patient enough with you.

the nerve?

LOL!

republicans have the nerve?

well, shame on them

everyone knows their names

(mcdonnell, christie, scott brown...)

just who do they think they are, anyway?

IF YOU CAN PASS IT, PASS IT

last chance, republicans...

we've been patient enough with you...

ooh, so scary!

LOL!

I think we should nominate The Prof as speaker of the house when the republicans take charge.

What can we do to help you start campaigning? Your genius should be shared with the world.

If you can pass it, pass it

The Prof said:

If you can pass it, pass it

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Under reconciliation, it will pass. I am on the same side you are in this debate, but I am also a realist. They will have the votes to push most of this garbage on us. Our best shot is in November.

i appreciate that but, like i said, it can't be done

and, of course, they're gonna SAY it

don't LISTEN to em, not when they're blowin smoke

The Prof said:

well, there's a mindless little comeback

but it doesn't alter the fact that the party, which can't come together on a compromise for the summit (LOL!), is NOT able to pass even minor SOCIAL reforms using reconciliation

even if pelosi (LOL!) says otherwise

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Well, you did catch me on one of my mindless and sophomoric days. :mrgreen:

danarhea said:

After the Brown election, I predicted that "Obamacare" was still going to pass, and it looks like I am right.

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As I said even before Brown was elected and it looked sure to pass: I'll believe it when I see it.

danarhea said:

What the Democrats are planning is all legal, but sets a bad precedent.

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No, what sets a bad precedent is filibustering every single bill, and having no way for the majority to pass the legislation.

(Sorry if that sounds partisan, but it's true. I like to think I'm usually pretty reasonable when it comes to seeing things from other political views...but in this case, the blame IS entirely one-sided. The Republicans have essentially shut down the government by insisting on 60 votes for everything.)

danarhea said:

The key to the Democrats' strategy is to pass health care under "reconciliation", which would prevent filibusters, by requiring only 51 votes to pass. By doing this, the Democrats also plan to bring back the "Public Option" and pass that through the reconciliation process. This is also legal, because the public option had already been passed by the House.

Click to expand...

While I'd like to see the public option return, I'm skeptical as to whether or not it can pass. At this point I'd rather see a cleanup bill pass the Senate via reconciliation so that both the Senate bill and the cleanup bill can be ratified, and we at least have SOMETHING. At that point, THEN maybe the Senate can consider adopting the public option via reconciliation.

danarhea said:

1) It mandates that most Americans purchase insurance. This IS Socialistic in nature.

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Nah, it's just practical. There's no way to ban preexisting conditions (which pretty much everyone agrees we need) unless we also mandate insurance. Otherwise, people will abuse the system and wait until they get sick to buy insurance.

danarhea said:

2) It will add more than a trillion dollars to the deficit over the next decade.

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I don't know what makes you think this. The CBO (not known for wildly optimistic projections) concluded that the health reform bill will actually reduce the deficit.

danarhea said:

3) It will make steep cuts in Medicare, a program that many Americans have spent a lifetime paying into already.

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One of the prime reasons we need to pass health reform is to get entitlement spending under control. Medicare is on a truly horrifying financial trajectory if nothing changes.

And weren't you just saying an insurance mandate (which truly isn't that big a deal to most people) was the equivalent of socialism? Yet you support the status quo on Medicare?

danarhea said:

4) It will put the Federal government in the insurance business, something that it has no business being in.

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What exactly do you think Medicare does?

Deuce said:

Republicans have been calling this healthcare summit, a televised meeting where they are highly encouraged to bring their ideas to the table for open negotiations, doing exactly what they've been asking for all along, "a trap."

Republicans keep saying they've been shut out, that the administration doesn't really want bipartisanship.

We took out the public option.
We took out the "death panel" clause despite it being nothing of the sort.
We changed the language regarding illegal aliens, despite the bill already prohibiting funds being used for those in this country illegally.
We added the across-state-lines selling of insurance.
We added a requirement for each state to address malpractice lawsuits. AKA tort reform.

All of these were Republican ideas. Demands made that Democrats gave in to.

Now the Republicans are getting another demand: televised, transparent negotiations for all Americans to see.

And they have the nerve to keep saying that they're being shut out, and that this is "a trap." The only way its a trap is if you guys actually have no helpful ideas.

How much more ground should the Democrats give before they just say "**** it, these people have absolutely no intention of governing."

Last chance, Republicans. We've been patient enough with you.

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You didn't have to take out anything. All you had to do was pass it. And you didn't. Why?

The Republicans couldn't stop you from July-December. Why didn't you pass it?

Stop blaming Republicans. They were helpless.

Councilman said:

Talk of secession need to start now and loud I believe most Texans would welcome it without the incentive Obama Care.

What ever it takes to stop this going ahead needs to be done before it takes root because if they do this the Liberal idiots will next be forcing Cap And Trade on us at which point Obama gets his wish and the economy is sunk for sure and maybe for a generation or until a revolution, hopefully a peaceful one.

Click to expand...

Texas is welcome to secede anytime it wants too.....good riddance.

they can't pass it cuz it's a pig

and you can't reconcile a pig, either

it's PHYSICALLY impossible

cuz the pig has too much SOCIAL reform in it

public option via reconciliation---LOL!

the party can't even agree on a compromise to SUBMIT TO SUMMIT

LOL!

why?

the prez has promised to have it up and online BY MONDAY?

where's the MOVEMENT?

today?

why NO MOVEMENT?

tick tock