By DAVID ESPO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- In a long-anticipated showdown, liberal Democrats twice failed on Tuesday to inject a government-run insurance option into sweeping health care legislation taking shape in the Senate, despite bipartisan agreement that private insurers must change their ways.
The two votes marked a victory for Montana Democrat Max Baucus, the Senate Finance Committee chairman, who is hoping to push his middle-of-the-road measure through the panel by week's end. It also kept alive the possibility that at least one Republican may yet swing behind the overhaul, a key goal of both Baucus and the White House.
The developments occurred as Democrats in the House sought savings to reduce their companion legislation to roughly $900 billion over a decade, the price tag President Barack Obama has suggested.
One option under consideration would reduce the number of individuals and families eligible for federal health coverage subsidies to those earning less than 400 percent of poverty, or about $43,000 for a single person and $88,000 for a family of four, officials said, commenting only on condition of anonymity. The subsidies are designed to make insurance more affordable, and account for a significant percentage of spending in the bill.
Without disclosing any of the details of a marathon closed-door leadership meeting, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters, "It's hard work, but we're determined to get it [the bill's cost] down."
If anything, the health care debate was growing more intense. According to one independent organization, television advertising around the issue has been running at a level of more than $1.1 million a day for the past week and now stands over $100 million since the beginning of the year.
Inside the Senate Finance Committee, Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said his proposal to allow the government to sell insurance in competition with private industry was far from the federal takeover that critics portray. "It's not. It's optional," he said, adding it was designed to offer competition and a lower-priced, reliable choice for consumers shopping for coverage.
"Washington is not the answer," countered Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
The key votes were cast by Baucus and four other Democrats, who sided with Republicans who were united against the proposed change in the bill. "The public option would help to hold insurance companies' feet to the fire, I don't think there's much doubt about that, but my first job is to get this bill across the finish line," said the chairman.
Supporters of a new role for government repeatedly accused private insurers of placing profits over coverage, and said they would try for a federal option again when the full Senate votes.
For the Finance Committee, the day marked the beginning of a second week of public debate over sweeping legislation that generally adheres to conditions that Obama has called for.
The bill includes numerous new consumer protections, including a ban on companies denying insurance on the basis of pre-existing conditions. At the same time it provides government subsidies to help lower-income Americans afford insurance that is currently beyond their means. It also includes steps that supporters say will begin to slow the growth in health care costs nationwide.
After weeks of delay, both the House and Senate now appear on track to vote on different versions of health care legislation this fall. Passage in both houses would set the stage for a compromise to be voted on by year's end.
Associated Press writer Erica Werner in Washington contributed to this story.
