Tax News

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

  Senate Democrats said late on December 8 that they have reached agreement on a possible compromise on a public option in the health reform bill that could end the current impasse and lead to final passage of the measure. The proposal would drop an opt-in government-run plan as proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and, instead, offer an array of a health insurance policies provided by private health insurers and administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which handles benefits for federal employees. A government-run insurance program would be created in instances where private insurers fail to provide affordable choices. In order to mollify its liberal base, which strongly advocated for a public option, negotiators also proposed expanding Medicare eligibility to people aged 55 to 64.

  Not all 10 members of the negotiating team are fully satisfied with the tentative agreement, but they agreed to allow it to move forward. Reid said he would send the proposal to the Congressional Budget Office for cost estimates, a process that could take days, before fully vetting the details with members of his caucus.

  "I know not all 10 senators in the room agree on every single detail of this, nor will all 60 members of my caucus," said Reid. "But I know we all appreciate the hard work that these progressives and moderates have done to move this historic debate forward."

  President Obama said the Democrats "made progress last night with a creative new framework" that he said he believes "will pave the way for final passage" of health care reform legislation. Although details of the compromise have yet to be officially released, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, at a press briefing on December 9, said he thought requiring the OPM to administer the health insurance plan and requiring coverage to be akin to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) "fit together in a way that might be difficult to break apart."

  At this point in the process, Gibbs declined to say whether the White House prefers the Senate compromise to the House version, which contains a public option. He indicated that the primary focus at the moment is to get the bill out of the Senate and into conference.

  By Jeff Carlson and Paula Cruickshank, CCH News Staff

SFC Release: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act --Cutting Taxes, Making Health Care Affordable