Health Care Reform Efforts Stall in Congress

Democratic Congressional leaders and White House officials have all but conceded that passing universal health insurance legislation this year is unlikely. Despite this, they remain optimistic that a compromise can be reached and are working towards finding a solution that would represent progress, even if it is not as comprehensive as desired.

Key Takeaways:

• Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell stated that anything passed would not be as comprehensive as he would prefer, but still represents progress.
• White House Chief of Staff Leon E. Panetta hopes that a bipartisan group of moderates in the Senate can forge a compromise that meets President Clinton's goal of universal coverage.
• The Administration is open to incremental changes, such as insurance law amendments, but only if they are not portrayed as fulfilling the task of health care restructuring.
• Senator John H. Chafee and Senator John B. Breaux are working on a scaled-back proposal for insurance law changes and deficit reduction, which aims to increase health insurance coverage to 92% of Americans over the next decade.
• Democratic Senators on the liberal edge of the party, such as Paul Wellstone and Tom Harkin, are also searching for their own minimalist plan to increase coverage for children and the elderly.
• Senator Phil Gramm considers the chances of passing health care reform this year to be dead.
• Prospects for action in the House are uncertain, with leaders waiting for official cost estimates of various pending bills.

Statistics:

• Health insurance coverage to 92% of Americans over the next decade, up from 85% currently (moderate group's plan)
• Estimated reduction in Federal deficit by about $100 billion over the same period through cuts in growth in Medicare and Medicaid (moderate group's plan)
• 95% health insurance coverage goal in Senator Mitchell's proposal
• Increase in Medicare and Medicaid cuts to reduce the Federal deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years (moderate group's plan)

Sources:

• "[The New York Times, Saturday, August 19, 1995, Section A, Page 1]"
• "[The New York Times, Saturday, August 19, 1995, Section A, Page 15]"
• "[The White House, Office of the Press Secretary]"