Congress Struggles to Meet Deadline for National Health Insurance Legislation

Congress is racing against the clock to draft national health insurance legislation by the July 4 deadline, but bipartisan agreement remains elusive. Despite progress in individual committees, the overall effort is hindered by deep divisions and partisan politics. Top leaders from both parties continue to prioritize their own political bottom lines over a unified approach, with Democrats pushing for universal coverage and Republicans resisting employer-paid insurance.

Key Takeaways:

• The Senate Finance Committee is still deadlocked, with Senator David L. Boren's switch to effectively giving Republicans his proxy vote.
• A proposal by Senators John H. Chafee and John B. Breaux, which would make insurance coverage more widely available and provide subsidies for low-income individuals, may emerge from the Finance Committee.
• The proposal would not guarantee universal coverage, but would instead aim to reach 95% coverage by 2002, with a commission to recommend solutions if this target is not met.
• The Democrats' majorities in both houses are fragile, with only 56 Democratic Senators in the Senate and a House where Republicans could potentially filibuster a Democratic measure.
• President Clinton warns against "half-hearted" measures that do not provide coverage to all families, while Republicans attack his approach as a "tax on jobs" that would cost one million jobs.
• The atmosphere in Congress has become increasingly irritable, with Senator Bob Dole complaining about Hillary Rodham Clinton's tactics and proposing to end Federal contributions to insurance for members of Congress, the President, and the White House staff.

Statistics:

• 95%: the target coverage rate by 2002, according to the Chafee-Breaux proposal.
• 139 pages: the length of a proposal reportedly to be presented by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan to the Finance Committee on Monday.
• 56: the number of Democratic Senators, four short of the supermajority needed to force a vote.
• $1 million: the estimated number of jobs that could be lost due to employer-paid insurance, according to Representative H. James Saxton.
• 2000: the year by which the commission's recommendation on how to achieve 95% coverage should be made, according to the revised Chafee-Breaux proposal.

Sources:

• The Washington Post
• The New York Times
• Employees Benefits Research Institute
• Associated Press
• The Senate and House of Representatives records