It’s Snowe-ing in The District

By far the most significant move this week occurred on Tuesday afternoon when after months of wrangling in Hart 216, the Senate Finance Committee passed their long-awaited healthcare bill.  Following last week’s positive score by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that the Baucus bill came out less expensive than previously estimated, everyone waited in anticipation of the Committee’s vote.

As I’ve said for weeks, the heart of the debate focused on Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME).  Her will-she-or-won’t-she approach to a final vote of either for or against the Senate Finance bill waited until the last moment.  As I predicted, Senator Snowe voted in the affirmative.  If Snowe had voted no, the setback for the Democrats would have been enormous.  Despite the affirmative vote, she kept the pressure on the Democrats by warning that, “My vote today is my vote today.  It doesn’t forecast what my vote will be tomorrow.”  The long and short is that Olympia Snowe continues as a major player in the Senate as the Finance and HELP bills come together behind closed doors.  While the 14-9 “bi-partisan” vote was critical for the Democrats, the hard work of moving the Senate to a final vote and – as importantly – reconciling with the House remains a looming challenge.  Snowe broke ranks with her Republican colleagues in providing the vital swing vote to pass the Senate Finance Committee bill and remains a fulcrum for moderation – a position held not only by her but by a fair number of Senate Democrats whose votes are also needed to support the legislation on the Senate floor.  More to report on this front can be found below.   

Despite the historic nature of the vote on Tuesday, not everyone was on board.  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who shared many of Olympia Snowe’s concerns in his reaction to the bill, explained that, “The fact is this proposal will never come before the Senate. But what we do know is that the bill written behind closed doors here in the Capitol will be another 1,000-page, trillion-dollar takeover.  We know it will slash a half trillion dollars from seniors’ Medicare, add new taxes, and raise premiums. That’s not reform.”   

However, with this single vote by the Senate Finance Committee, the fifth – and final – Congressional committee has passed a healthcare plan.  All of the cards are on the table.  President Obama exuded optimism on Tuesday afternoon in a special Rose Garden press conference when he said, “We are now closer than ever before to passing health reform. Now is not the time to pat ourselves on the back. Now is not the time to offer ourselves congratulations. Now is the time to dig in and work even harder to get this done.”  Yes, indeed, the work is not done.

Kevin Fickenscher, MD

The views and opinions expressed herein are my own and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Dell Services or its affiliates.