The complete list of ways progressives strengthened health reform legislation
by: Chris Bowers
Sun Mar 07, 2010 at 23:50
Did progressive organizations and members of Congress get completely rolled in the health reform negotiations? Nope.
By comparing the current state of health reform legislation to the most conservative proposals that were passed out of Congressional committee, a healthy list of concessions progressives forced out of the right-wing of the party becomes visible. If there were no alterations from the most conservative health reform proposals that were passed out of Congressional committees in 2009, then the current state of health reform legislation would have:
1. $125 billion less for Medicaid, CHIP and exchange subsidies (total across all three programs);
2. Numerous exceptions to Medicaid eligibility even for people below 133% of the federal poverty level (FPL from here on out);
3. No minimum medical loss ratio for health insurance plans, instead of an 85% minimum medical loss ratio;
4. The Stupak amendment, instead of the Stupak state opt-out that is in the Senate bill;
5. No extra money for federally funded Community Health Centers, instead of increased funding to provide primary care to 16.2 million patients annually;
6. An excise tax on high end insurance plans would start in 2013 (giving most unions no time to renegotiate contracts), and a lower threshold (making it less progressive);
7. No 2.9% tax increase on unearned income, making the funding mechanism for the overall bill less progressive;
8. A stronger individual mandate and fewer responsibilities for employers;
9. No national exchange, instead of what appears to be both a state-based and a national exchange in the proposal form the White House.
Does this list of concessions mean that progressive health reform activists have won resounding victories up to this point? Certainly not--the current state of health reform legislation is far from ideal, and much closer to the right-wing proposals that passed Congressional committees in 2009 than the left-wing proposals that passed out of committee.
(Even the best proposals that passed out of committee are a far cry from what many progressives wanted. Then again, there are some conservative Democrats who want no reform at all. As such, I am only looking at proposals that passed committee, since those were the only viable proposals on either side.)
Still, it is an impressive list that should make any progressive activist who participated in the health reform fight proud, even if dissatisfied. You really did improve the bill, and have the opportunity to keep improving it.
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http://www.openleft.com/diary/17728/the-complete-list-of-ways-progressives-strengthened-health-reform-legislation
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