By a thin margin of 220-to-215, the House of Representatives passed their version of health care reform legislation on Saturday. The flawed bill now faces Senate action, and without some substantial revisions is unlikely to pass.
Mississippi’s House delegation split over the bill with only 2nd District U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Bolton, voting in favor of the bill. Democrats 1st District U.S. Rep. Travis Childers of Booneville and 4th District U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor of Bay St. Louis joined Republican 3rd District U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper of Pearl in voting against the legislation.
Both of Mississippi’s Republican senators – Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker – have said they can’t support the current Senate proposals contained in the Senate Finance Committee bill. That leaves Democrats scrambling in the Senate for support from Democratic moderates who reject the so-called “public option” and other measures contained in the House version.
That said, the public option – in states like Mississippi where private health insurance competition is relatively weak – is one that has the potential if structured correctly to help bring down health care costs for consumers and for taxpayers.
Key components of the House version of the bill that will almost certainly invite the scorn of the Senate include the failure to tax “Cadillac” insurance plans. The House bowed to pressure from labor unions on that facet of the bill. The House bill is also under fire for a significant lack of cost control and a lack of medical malpractice tort reform – both of which are critical to holding down the cost of expanding public health care.
The need to reform this nation’s health care system is one that isn’t argued by either of the two major political parties. But the methods by which the system is reformed and who bears the brunt of the financial burden for those reform are both contentious issues.
The House version of health care reform did address the issue of government-funded abortions. Removing that powder keg from the debate was a positive contribution and removes a stumbling block from Senate consideration.
The House also included strong mandates for industry to provide access to health care plans. But the Senate has much work to do. Final public health care reform legislation needs a stronger tax policy to support it than the House employed.
The Senate also needs to strengthen costs controls and beef up medical malpractice tort reforms if the legislation is to have a chance to pass.
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