AP: House Dems Trim Health Bill to $871B, with robust public option,96% insured and reduces deficit!

[flpoljunkie]

AP source: House Dems trim health bill to $871B

By ERICA WERNER
The Associated Press
Tuesday, October 20, 2009; 9:31 PM

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats are aiming to scale back the cost of their health care bill to well below President Barack Obama's preferred price tag by giving the government a strong hand in selling insurance in competition with the private market.

Obama has sought to spend no more than $900 billion over a 10-year period. The initial cost of the House bill was more than $1 trillion. On Tuesday, House Democratic leaders received a new cost estimate of $871 billion from congressional budget umpires who measured a robust version of a so-called public option for health insurance, according to a Democratic aide.

The figures were preliminary because no final decision on the design of the public plan had been made, said the aide, who requested anonymity in discussing the bill because the deliberations were private.

The House bill with the strong public plan would extend coverage to 96 percent of uninsured Americans and significantly reduce budget deficits.

A $871 billion bill in the House would be in line with the leading Senate bill, the $829 billion measure approved last week by the Senate Finance Committee.

Pelosi assembled Democratic lawmakers Tuesday night to try to sell them on her preferred version of the public plan, which would link payment rates to providers to Medicare rates, plus an additional 5 percent for doctors. Moderates have been concerned that those rates are too low and would hurt hospitals and other providers particularly in rural areas.

Several lawmakers said they were getting close to the 218-vote majority needed for the stronger version.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/20/AR2009102003043_2.html

[Cha]

1. Yes, brilliant~

It's getting closer and closer.

[ej510]

2. They to implement this bill earlier than 2013.

[flpoljunkie]

6. With a public option tied to Medicare rates +5% and using Medicare providers, they could.

Whether they will be able to do this is another question. The Senate is the obstacle--with Senators like Lieberman, Nelson, and Landrieu. Harry Reid must put a public option in the bill he brings to the Senate floor so 60 votes are needed to strip it out. What kind of public option that would be is questionable.

[NYMountaineer]

3. Bring it on home, baby...

Write your congressman or your senator. If we can get a bill like this passed, it'd start a nice snowball effect of getting the rest of the right politicians back in charge to get the right agenda passed.

[MarjorieG]

4. Were we able to/agree on Medicare fix for the rural areas outside of the bill, allowing more votes

for public option? GOP sqawk that 200 some billion shouldn't be stand alone item?

[flpoljunkie]

5. I think Pelosi is working on this.

[ipaint]

7. Where is this "robust" public option coming from?

It's not in any of the bills.

[flpoljunkie]

9. Robust refers to Nancy Pelosi's Medicare plus 5% public option.

From the OP:

Pelosi assembled Democratic lawmakers Tuesday night to try to sell them on her preferred version of the public plan, which would link payment rates to providers to Medicare rates, plus an additional 5 percent for doctors. Moderates have been concerned that those rates are too low and would hurt hospitals and other providers particularly in rural areas.

[ipaint]

10. That is not a robust public option.

[uponit7771]

8. A CBO score would be icing on the cake

[rvablue]

11. I'll celebrate when I see the same thing come out of the Senate. Support for the PO has always been

much stronger in the House than in the Senate.

Let's keep up the fight and get this done. The American people want it. The Senators (sitting on the fence) need to get in line!