On the left, the Senate Finance Committee health care reform bill has been ripped apart by (deep breath): Health Care for America Now, AFL-CIO, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Sen. Roland Burris, Rep. Raul Grijalva, Rep. Anthony Weiner, and, I’m sure, others.
It earned an icy reception from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and a lukewarm (though overall positive) response from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, it’s still getting no love on the right. Even from moderate Republicans. Blue Dogs like it, though!
Late update: Despite calling the Baucus plan the “best effort to date,” even the Chamber of Commerce has “grave concerns” and says “the bill still needs tremendous improvement.” You can read the full statement below the fold.
“Chairman Baucus has made a good faith effort to address the concerns of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and we thank him for his inclusive efforts. The business community has strongly advocated for health care reform and the Senate Finance bill is the best effort to date.
“We applaud the provisions in this bill that will lower health care costs, increase coverage, and improve the quality of care. These range from fairly regulating the insurance market to enacting tax parity for small businesses and the self employed. We strongly support allowing plans to be sold nationally, and allowing individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines. This bill does not contain a government-run “public option”, and the Congressional Budget Office has certified it as the first comprehensive health reform bill that will actually bend the cost curve and get health care costs under control.
“However, we have grave concerns over the vast array of new taxes contained in the bill. This bill creates a new tax on benefits that may well spiral out of control to become the next Alternative Minimum Tax. It taxes prescriptions, insurance policies, medical devices, clinics and labs… and all of these taxes will increase costs for employers and workers. The bill does not contain health courts or any other meaningful medical liability reform. Not to mention, the bill creates a massive new entitlement in the form of insurance credits that will burden taxpayers now and in the future. Overall, the bill still needs tremendous improvement.
We look forward to continuing to work with the Chairman and other policy makers as this difficult but important process continues to move forward.”
