Health Care Reform Weekly Easytoinsureme Health Insurance Quotes

Health Care Reform Weekly Easytoinsureme Health Insurance Quotes

Week of Jan 25, 2010

The sudden halt to health care reform’s regular march forward came as a shock to many who saw an upset win by Republican Senator-elect Scott Brown in Massachusetts as all but impossible. But whether many took delight in the election outcome’s affect on health reform legislation, Aetna Chairman Ronald A. Williams prefabricated it clear in a New York Times story final week that the country still needs meaningful health care reform – reform that addresses access as well as affordability. Everyone benefits by health reform that gets at the factors driving soaring health care costs and the loss of coverage for so many Americans. While Congress thinks carefully about its next steps, Aetna will continue to support meaningful health care reform and continue to offer responsible solutions to legislative leaders.

Federal

The election of Republican Scott Brown as the new senator from Massachusetts has derailed the Congressional health care reform train, less because Brown denies Democrats the 60th filibuster-proof vote, though that is certainly a major result, and more because it collapsed the Democratic political home of cards by highlighting the power of independent voters and the frustrated anti-incumbent mood of the electorate. Whether Democrats can regroup from this wake-up call will consume their leadership from now until the November off-year elections. How Democrats handle, and how Republicans reply to, health care reform in the short term and other key priorities – such as jobs, the economy, energy and security – over the rest of the session will underscore all Congressional decisions from now until the first Tuesday in November. In short, the 2010 elections started in serious with Brown’s victory.

Once Democrats get past the shock of losing Kennedy’s seat, they will have to grapple with health care reform, one way or the other. The primeval favorites, including passing the Senate bill “as is” in the House, have been dropped for now as Democrats recognize the political cost of ramming through something unpopular propelled by political muscle only. Passing a smaller, less invasive and mostly Democratic bill has only a slightly superior chance, as Republicans are not too likely to “crossover” fairly yet. There is a growing interest in using reconciliation (the 51-vote tactic) down the road to pass a Democratic-only bill, once the Home and Senate Democratic leadership can concur to a single bill. And, there is the external chance that Democrats will see the Massachusetts election as an vital to craft a bipartisan bill with Republicans that can secure 70-plus votes in the Senate. Wednesday’s Say of the Union speech, followed by the celebration issues retreats later in the week, will go a long way toward determining which path will be pursued.