Democrats pare differences over health overhaul
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Democrats say they are resolving disputes over President Barack Obama's health overhaul plan, but they face decisions on subsidizing coverage and are still hunting votes to push the vast package through Congress.
House Democrats were meeting again Friday to discuss the still-evolving plan and for leaders to try to soothe lawmakers worried about the price they might pay in November's congressional elections for supporting it. After a day of meetings with rank-and-file lawmakers and among House, Senate and White House bargainers, leaders expressed confidence Thursday evening that this stage of their labors was nearly complete.
"We made a lot of decisions. We're getting toward the end," White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told reporters as he left the office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Reid received disturbing news during the day that his wife and daughter were rear-ended in a serious traffic accident.
Reid's 69-year-old wife was hospitalized in serious condition with a broken neck and back, officials said.
Even with initial votes possible next week, few were claiming that Democrats had the votes in hand to prevail — especially in the House, where the roll call is expected to be a cliffhanger. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., conceded that even once details of the package are complete, leaders will need time to sell it to lawmakers.
"We will have at least one week to have our conversation," Pelosi said. It could take longer, she added, "but it's not something we want to drag out."
The seemingly endless string of meetings and negotiations is aimed at finally wrapping up Obama's top-tier domestic goal of revamping the way many Americans get health care and how they pay for it. The legislation would restrict how insurance companies dole out coverage to customers, require most people to carry policies and extend coverage to 30 million uninsured Americans, financed by slowing the growth of Medicare and raising some taxes.
To finish a yearlong push and overcome unanimous Republican opposition, the House must finally approve a near $1 trillion health overhaul bill the Senate approved Christmas Eve.
Then, because that measure contains provisions that have become politically toxic — like extra Medicaid payments to Nebraska — Obama and Democrats want to pass a second bill revising parts of the first one. Obama has proposed a compromise to achieve that, and lawmakers have been deciding in recent days exactly what the final product would look like.
