Dems Play “Choice” Card To Support Public Plan Option In House Budget Cmte.
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
Partisan vote defeats House Republican attempt to prohibit funding of a public health plan to compete with private insurance.
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Who’s Who On The Joint Select Committee On Deficit Reduction
The Budget Control Act created a 12-member bicameral panel charged with finding at least $1.2 trillion to cut from federal spending. The top Democrat and top Republican in each chamber of Congress appointed three members to serve on the joint committee. The Committee needs to make its legislative proposal by Thanksgiving, with only a simple majority needed to send the fiscal package to both chambers for approval. President Obama would then have to sign the bill by Jan. 15, 2012. A failure to accomplish this will trigger automatic spending cuts across all government programs as defined by the BCA (“Beware The Debt Deal’s Spending Cut Trigger: Medicare Part D and B Provider Pay Would Drop,” “The Pink Sheet” DAILY, Aug. 2, 2011). Health care related issues are expected to be a significant part of the discussions within the committee, including Medicaid-level rebates for drugs used by dual eligibles in the Medicare Part D program.
Who’s Who On The Joint Select Committee On Deficit Reduction
The Budget Control Act created a 12-member bicameral panel charged with finding at least $1.2 trillion to cut from federal spending. The top Democrat and top Republican in each chamber of Congress appointed three members to serve on the joint committee. The Committee needs to make its legislative proposal by Thanksgiving, with only a simple majority needed to send the fiscal package to both chambers for approval. President Obama would then have to sign the bill by Jan. 15, 2012. A failure to accomplish this will trigger automatic spending cuts across all government programs as defined by the BCA (“Beware The Debt Deal’s Spending Cut Trigger: Medicare Part D and B Provider Pay Would Drop,” “The Pink Sheet” DAILY, Aug. 2, 2011). Health care related issues are expected to be a significant part of the discussions within the committee, including Medicaid-level rebates for drugs used by dual eligibles in the Medicare Part D program.
Public Health Plan’s Price-Setting Authority Emphasized In UC Berkeley/IAF Policy Brief
UC Berkeley professor Hacker argues for national public health plan option modeled on Medicare that would be available, along with private plans, through an “exchange.”