Democratic lawmakers set smaller goals for health care than Presidential candidates' proposals

Democratic lawmakers are "maneuvering to lower public expectations" about the prospects of health care proposals offered by Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) amid concerns that "sweeping change will be difficult," The Hill reports.

Both candidates would use the federal government to establish a marketplace in which residents could purchase private or public health insurance, with subsidies for lower-income residents, and would mandate that health insurers could not reject applicants because of pre-existing medical conditions. The most significant difference in the proposals involves the question of whether to mandate that all residents obtain health insurance. Clinton would implement such a mandate, but Obama would require coverage only for children.

Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) said that, although the proposals are a "good start," a promise that Congress would pass either of the plans "at the beginning of the year to mid-next year would really be political talk at this point." Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said, "We all know there is not enough money to do all this stuff," adding, "What they are doing is ... laying out their ambitions." Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, "Health care I feel strongly about, but I am not sure we're ready for a major national health care plan." Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said, "If they try to solve all the problems, it's going to be difficult."

According to The Hill, in the event that the majority party in Congress sought to "rush" on health care reform, the minority party might "hunker down -- as was the case with ... President Bill Clinton's attempt at addressing health care policy" in the 1990s. "If supporters wait too long, however," the prospects for health care reform might "fall victim to the political considerations of the next election cycle," The Hill reports. Democratic lawmakers have "set smaller goals" for health care legislation, such as the passage of a bill that would reauthorize and expand SCHIP, The Hill reports (Raju, The Hill, 4/23).

Related Broadcast Coverage

WAMU's "The Diane Rehm Show" on Wednesday included a discussion about health care reform. Guests on the program included Gail Wilensky, a senior fellow at Project HOPE and a health care policy adviser under former President George H.W. Bush; David Himmelstein, co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School; and Denis Cortese, president and CEO of Mayo Clinic (Rehm, "The Diane Rehm Show," WAMU, 4/23). Audio of the segment is available online.