AP: Senate Dems weigh dropping Medicare expansion

[IndianaGreen]

Senate Dems weigh dropping Medicare expansion

December 14, 2009 06:52 PM EST |
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WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats say they may jettison a proposed Medicare expansion from health care legislation they are eager to pass before Christmas.

Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, emerging from a closed door meeting, said Monday the move is probably necessary to pass the bill.

Under a tentative agreement worked out last week among Senate liberals and moderates, uninsured men and women beginning at age 55 would be permitted to purchase coverage from Medicare. They would be required to pay higher rates than is charged to beneficiaries age 65 and up.

But Connecticut's independent Sen. Joe Lieberman threatened over the weekend to oppose the legislation if the Medicare provision is included, and several Democrats have also expressed concern about it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20091214/us-health-care-medicare/

Evan Bayh's wife sits on the board of WellPoint.

[Mojambo]

1. LOL. n/t

[d_b]

2. lols

[Diane R]

3. I'm furious.

[ProSense]

4. Evan Bayh is always talking shit.

He's as useless as Lieberman.

[Mass]

5. Shocking.

:sarcasm:

What is the next change that the right of the party will ask for. Better know it now, so that they can take it out, vote this damned bill out and move on something else. At this point, any additional discussion is a loss of time because they have made it clear they will accept anything.

[janx]

6. Who on earth wrote this?!

:wtf:

"They would be required to pay higher rates than is charged to beneficiaries age 65 and up."

It gets worse and worse !

[IndianaGreen]

7. WaPo: Democrats move toward dropping medicare expansion

Posted at 6:45 PM ET, 12/14/2009

Democrats move toward dropping medicare expansion

By Shailagh Murray

Senate Democrats emerged from a special caucus meeting Monday night determined to pass a health-care bill by Christmas -- but without the Medicare buy-in plan that liberals had sought as an alternative to a government insurance option.

The Medicare buy-in was never warmly embraced by moderate Democrats, but independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman(Conn), whose vote is needed to break a GOP filibuster, appears to have dealt the proposal a mortal blow when he informed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) on Sunday that he wouldn't support the buy-in plan in any form.

In the Monday evening meeting, Reid urged Democrats to accept political reality and move the $848 billion bill across the finish line without the proposal.

"It appeared that would be necessary," Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), a moderate, said in response to a question about whether the Medicare expansion would be dropped as he left the caucus.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/health-care-reform/daily-dose/?hpid=topnews

[BP2]

8. and what if Lie-berman demands

something like a 10-year moratorium on the Public Option or anything else he objects to?

It sounds like they'll give it to him, since they're giving everything else to him that he whines about.

Why do I have the feeling we're about to get screwed - once again?!