Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- How many Americans will get subsidized medical coverage -- plus who will pay for it -- will be front-burner issues when Congress returns next month to complete President Barack Obama's health care remake.
Pocketbook concerns join abortion and whether Uncle Sam should peddle insurance as the top bones of contention for negotiators who must resolve difference between the House and Senate bills.
The negotiations are the last chance for Democrats to shape the legislation to deliver concrete benefits to Americans skeptical that it will help control skyrocketing premiums as it expands coverage to millions more.
"People will really begin to focus on some of the core issues that have received less attention," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., a member of the House leadership. "These are the bread-and-butter issues that will have the most significant impact on people's pocketbooks."
Democrats are under pressure to reconcile the House and Senate versions before Obama's first State of the Union speech. Not yet scheduled, it's usually delivered in late January or early February. Republicans will wage legislative guerrilla warfare to delay an agreement.
There's not much time, and apparently not much give either.
Senate moderates say they won't vote for a bill that changes the basic terms they agreed to with Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and conservative Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., have drawn a line against reintroducing a government-run insurance plan to compete with the likes of Aetna and Wellpoint. The House bill includes it, but Reid, D-Nev., needs every member of his 60-vote coalition to hold off GOP opponents.
More difficult to solve is the issue of how to restrict taxpayer funding for abortions. Abortion opponents disagree among themselves over the Senate's approach. Abortion rights supporters are completely against the more restrictive House language and are divided on how the Senate has handled it.
Obama will probably have to step in to settle disputes and keep things moving.
Democrats have options on how to handle the negotiations.
They could agree to a limited set of changes, allowing each chamber to pass identically amended bills. Or they could set up a formal conference committee to resolve differences. Leaders have made no decision yet. Naming a conference committee would signal that the issues have proven difficult.
Yet the longer Democrats argue, the more suspicious the public becomes about remaking the health care system. "The making of salami and legislation is not pretty for people to watch," said Harvard professor Robert Blendon, who tracks public opinion on health care. "It has left them nervous that the interests of middle-income people are not being served."
