A leading pro-choice progressive in the House is taking a fairly optimistic view of the looming tug of war over health care, brushing off concerns that liberal members are getting short shrift, and suggesting that, despite restrictive abortion language in both the House and Senate bills, reform will be a major step forward for women.
“An informal conference process will still achieve the same goal as a formal conference committee: passing health reform,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro tells TPMDC.
Yesterday, Democrats confirmed that they would circumvent the formal channel by which many House and Senate bills are combined–a move many progressives have opposed, suspecting a streamlined process would cut them out of negotiations. DeLauro says there’s nothing to fear.
“The informal process will likely involve calling up the Senate bill on the floor and adding any compromise language as amendments, and I look forward to working out the differences between the House and Senate bills in whatever capacity is decided upon,” DeLauro says via email. “Regardless of the method in which is it conferenced, the most important thing is that both houses have passed health care reform, and taken a huge step towards fulfilling our responsibility to ensure that quality, affordable health care is available to all Americans.”
DeLauro identifies a number of areas in which, she says, the House bill surpasses the Senate bill. The House bill, she says, “includes stronger subsidies for working families and individuals, makes critical improvements to the Medicaid program, and closes the Medicare donut hole.”
Citing a potential trade-off on the lips of a number of members and aides, DeLauro adds that “the structure of the House bill – a national exchange and a more efficient insurance marketplace – will result in much stronger consumer protections.”
The House bill would organize the insurance exchange system at the national level, while the Senate allows states to set up their own market places. “It seems to me that the House language, which is based on a Federal insurance exchange that allows states to opt out and create their own exchanges, will make it easier to keep insurance companies honest and give states, which as we all know have been struggling with severe budget deficits, one less piece of implementation to deal with,” she says. “State-by-state experimentation certainly has its place, but I believe that a federally administered exchange with the opportunity to opt out makes more sense.”
On abortion, pro-choice members like DeLauro are prepared to be disappointed, but they seem open to accepting the language in the Senate bill.
“The Nelson amendment in the Senate raises many questions,” DeLauro says. “Though it does appear to go beyond current law, the preserving of which was my initial goal, it is a modest step in the right direction.”
But, she adds that, abortion notwithstanding, the greater reforms will be a huge boon to women, who will no longer face higher premiums based on gender.
“It must be noted that health care reform overall will be a major step forward for American women,” she says. “[N]o longer will they be charged more for the same coverage or denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. Important preventive services like cancer screenings will be covered. Maternity care will finally be covered for all women. This is important progress for women. “
