SENATE MAJORITY leader Harry Reid has brokered a workable compromise on health care without sacrificing the basic goals of reform. Any national health law that requires everyone to have insurance must offer a range of affordable policies to choose from. A government-run “public option’’ was always one way to ensure such choice. But an array of nonprofit, private plans regulated by the federal government could do the trick as well - especially if Congress backs this up by broadening Medicare to allow those 55 and older to buy into the popular program for seniors.
These are the lines of a compromise drawn up this week by five liberal and five moderate Senate Democrats, under Reid’s oversight. If fleshed out with enough protections for consumers, the new plan could bring the country one major step closer to Harry Truman’s vision of universal coverage.
A public option has been seen as a poison pill by senators from states that are home to big insurance firms, not least independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. Lieberman, a few moderate Democrats, and Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine have all said they would oppose any bill with a public option. This would deny the Democrats the 60 votes they need to overcome a Republican filibuster against a health reform bill.
Lieberman said he was “encouraged by the progress toward a consensus,’’ while former Vermont governor Howard Dean, a fervent advocate of a public option, called the compromise of offering Medicare to people 55 and over “a positive step forward.’’ This part of the deal raised the hackles of the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association. In many parts of the country, both doctors and hospitals believe Medicare does not adequately reimburse them.
Congress should examine those reimbursement rates for fairness, but it should also remind doctors and hospitals that all providers will benefit by having more insured patients.
Several steps remain before health-insurance reform becomes a reality. The Senate must pass a bill, and then reconcile its provisions with the House bill. Then both chambers must approve a final bill. But the compromise announced this week by the working group of 10 senators is a solid step forward.
