Senator Al Franken Introduces Health Care Bill -
Fairness in Health Insurance Act of 2009
Oct 1, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee, which has been marking up its version of the health care reform bill (HR 3200), currently has designated some $465 billion in government subsidies for private insurance companies, with the condition that 85% of said money goes toward providing actual health care (as opposed to marketing, salaries and administrative costs). Senator Franken's legislation would raise that percentage to 90%, demanding stricter controls and increased efficiency from private insurance companies which receive government subsidies.
Senator Jay Rockefeller Champions Franken Health Insurance Act
On Wednesday night, Senator Rockefeller, who currently sits on the Senate Finance Committee, expressed support for Senator Franken's idea to hold private insurance companies more accountable for any money received from the Federal government. In fact, he went so far as to say on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann that he planned to introduce Franken's act as an amendment in the Senate Finance Committee's continuing markup of HR 3200.
Senate Finance Committee Still Stalled in Negotiations
The committee, headed by Senator Max Baucus, remains the only committee left debating which version of its health care bill will be brought out of its committee. Baucus' group has to this point been the most conservative of the committees charged with bringing a health care bill out of committee before it can be taken to the House and Senate floors for a vote. While much of this is due to opposition by Republicans and conservative (Blue Dog) Democrats to some of President Obama's health care plan, some political analysts have cynically suspected that Senator Baucus---who has received millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the health industry---is protecting his own political and financial interests.
A Counter-Offensive to Public Option Vote?
A Daily Kos diary by dallasdoc proposed that Senator Rockefeller's intention in offering Senator Franken's act as an amendment in the Senate Finance Committee may be tactical. Rockefeller, one of the strongest proponents of having a public option be included in the Senate Finance Committee's final bill, lost his battle for the public option when it was voted down by Baucus' committee (and Baucus himself). In offering Franken's act as an amendment, Rockefeller may be forcing Baucus and Republicans on the committee into a difficult vote.
The political problem for Baucus and the committee will be this: the health insurance industry will most likely oppose a move to require that 90% of subsidy money be applied to actual health care. However, at 90%, private insurance companies still stand to generate huge profits. If Rockefeller indeed introduces the amendment in committee, the question will be this: can Republicans and conservative Democrats on the Finance Committee vote against the amendment without giving the appearance of working explicitly for the interests of private insurance companies?
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