Health care bill's pro-LGBT provisions at risk

[Better Believe It]

Health care bill's LGBT provisions at risk
By Lisa Keen
January 8, 2010

News on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning suggested there was little hope for keeping pro-LGBT provisions in the health care reform legislation Congress hopes to pass. But Rep. Barney Frank says he's still "somewhat optimistic."

According to The Hill, a newspaper that serves Capitol Hill readers, leaders of the House and Senate decided Tuesday evening to stick with the Senate version of the health care reform bill -the one without any pro-gay provisions--rather than go through a conference committee negotiation to merge the two versions. The paper said the decision was made on Tuesday night in a meeting that included only President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Under that scenario, the House would be able to amend the Senate bill and send it back to the Senate for a final vote, but the likelihood of pro-LGBT amendments being accepted onto a bill that has already been ravaged with controversy -over how and whether abortions could be covered and the exclusion of a government-run option for insurance-- seems small.

But Rep. Frank says there's still plenty of room for negotiation with the Senate over the legislation to keep some of the pro-LGBT provisions passed as part of the House bill.

http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=39470

[shopgreen]

1. Tammy Blawin is silent on this issue==here are the specifics.....

...........Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), an openly gay representative and strong advocate for both health care and LGBT civil rights, did not respond to a request for comment on the status of the overall bill and the pro-gay amendments she helped champion. Among them, were ending the current tax inequity for gay employees who cover their partners or spouses on their work health insurance coverage, prohibiting discrimination in health care based on "personal characteristics," and launching studies to end health disparities for people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Human Rights Campaign, in response to a request for comment, issued this statement suggesting it is not yet giving up:

"The decision to forgo a traditional conference does not change the fact that the negotiations between House and Senate leadership to complete health care reform will undoubtedly be complex and difficult on a range of issues. We will continue to strongly push the congressional leadership to ensure that critical protections for LGBT people included in the House-passed bill are part of the final measure."

(c) 2010 Keen News Service

[dkf]

2. Well they couldn't leave the glbt populace out of the slap in the face constituencies.

[laughingliberal]

3. +1000

[laughingliberal]

4. One more effort to move us towards being a nation that gives a damn down the drain

By the time this fucking thing is over we'll have a 1 page bill that requires you to send your money to a private health insurance company and requires they provided nothing in return unless they happen to feel like it. There will be an increase on payroll taxes for anyone making less than $250,000 per year. An amendment will be added making taxes on anyone making over $250,000 per year illegal and abortion will be outlawed. Refusing to buy insurance will result in jail time and you will only be entitled to health care while incarcerated if you can pay for it out of your own funds.

[xchrom]

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