A Health Reform Bill Destined to Be Partisan
With the health reform debate in recent weeks focused largely on GOP opposition to a government-sponsored insurance plan, the implication has been that eliminating the public option would attract Republicans to the proposal.
Hardly.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) told reporters today that Republicans also won’t support the Democrats’ proposal because (1) the costs are too high, (2) the strategies to cover those costs will likely include a tax on someone, and (3) the strategy to create private co-ops is “a Trojan Horse” representing “a step toward government-run health care.” By Kyl’s telling, Republicans won’t support the Democrats’ health reform proposal unless it suddenly morphs into the Republicans’ health reform proposal. From The Hill:
Kyl said Republicans prefer a narrower approach that targets costs and the factors behind the costs, but that Democrats voted down those proposals in committee debates. The GOP would prefer to see ideas such as medical malpractice lawsuit limits, an expansion of private health care tax breaks and the abandonment of employer-mandated healthcare. The Democrat-led approach to health care also doesn’t include enough allowances for states to experiment with their own health care ideas, Kyl said.
Looks like this is destined to be a partisan bill after all.
Related
$1.3 trillion in federal spending unaccounted for, report finds
Despite calls for independent bodies to keep government accountable, the Sunlight Foundation’s most recent Clearspending report has found the federal
$1.89 billion given to states to fight HIV
The federal government Monday announced more than $1.89 billion in funding to states to fight the HIV epidemic with access to care and with more cash for the failing AIDS Drug Assistance Program. According to an HHS press release , $813 million of that money will go directly to the ADAP programming. An additional $8,386,340 will be issued as a supplement to 36 states and territories currently facing a litany of unmet needs and access issues.
$1.3 Million for Brown
The GOP’s candidate in the Massachusetts special election raised more than one million dollars -- double the goal -- in a 24-hour moneybomb on the Ron Paul
1. Brian Schweitzer
As governor of Montana, Schweitzer doesn’t represent one of the most highly populated, high-profile electoral states in the country. But this
#1 in Conspiracy Theories
Andrew Young’s tell-all biography of John Edwards, hitting shelves next week, is surging in one Amazon.com category in particular. #1 in Conspiracy
1 Brigade and 1 Battalion
ISTANBUL – It’s 10 p.m. in the lowest level of the Istanbul airport. In 20 minutes I’ll be allowed to board my plane to Kabul, bringing me to the
1. Lindsey Graham
Sen. Graham (R-S.C.) is typically regarded as a reliable vote for his party, but he took the bold step of breaking with his fellow Republicans to join Kerry
$1 Million for Toomey
Pat Toomey, the former Club for Growth president and leading Republican candidate in Pennsylvania’s 2010 Senate race, has announced a $1 million haul in the
$1 Trillion for Fannie and Freddie?
That is the worst-case scenario, according to Egan-Jones Ratings Co., quoted in a Bloomberg article making the rounds. The agency says that if home prices
Bachmann uncomfortable over earmarks ban
Republicans appear to have boxed themselves into a corner with their portrayal of earmarks as wasteful spending, as many of them have backed a moratorium on
Troubled mine holds hope for U.S. rare earth industry
China currently controls 97 percent of the world’s rare earth production. The Mountain Pass Mine could change that -- if it can overcome serious environmental concerns.