Redux

The House and Senate bills differ on the funding sources...the House has a surcharge on personal income over $500K and the Senate has a tax on high end health plans.

I expect it will end with a little of both. The level of income for the surcharge and the type of high end policies that will be taxed with both be modified as compromise. There are other differences to be resolved as well.

Personally, I prefer the House bill (taxing the rich, including a public option, stronger anti-trust provisions) but the Senate usually gets its way and the final bill will probably look pretty much like the Senate bill...and might even attract a few more Democrats in the House who voted against it the first time around because of the cost..the Senate version is about $150 billion cheaper.


The process is normally to have a conference committee made up of a small number of members from both the House and Senate to work out the differences and normally from both parties.

But there are numerous examples over the years, with either party in the majority, where that process has been expedited...for various reasons.

The conference committee does not look for new amendments or new proposals to dramatically change either bill, but to find the way to address the differences that those who voted FOR the bills can accept.

In this case, since NO Republicans voted for the bill in either the House or Senate AND.they have made it clear that they will not vote for either bill, the only role they would play on the conference committee would be to further obstruct and delay the process.

And to answer your question...normal? No, but hardly unprecedented either. And more often than the critics would lead you to believe.


I think it is great that the private sector is looking for ways to cut costs. It is long over-due.

But that still wont address the needs of the uninsured to have access to affordable health insurance and to the security to those with insurance that they wont face exlusions for pre existing conditions or potential bankruptcy from excessive out of pocket costs.

And the bills include incentives and tax breaks for the private sector when it does demonstrate cost containment.