White House Still Calling For Health Reform Before End Of Year

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Despite recent setbacks in the Senate debate over health reform legislation, the White House Monday expressed confidence that the bill would pass before the end of December.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., a former Democrat who had until recently voted with them on most domestic issues, said Sunday on a television interview that he would not vote for the health reform bill in its current form.

Before that revelation it was thought that a compromise last week might break a senate deadlock and allow Democrats to muster the 60 votes needed to cut off a GOP filibuster.

That compromise involved scrapping a government-run alternative to private insurance companies in favor of giving the government a greater role in negotiating prices and coverage of plans in new insurance exchanges and expanding Medicare eligibility.

But White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that President Barack Obama still believes an agreement can be reached before the year is out.

"The President is anxious to see progress and will continue to work with Democrats and Republicans and independents, and everyone in between to make that progress," Gibbs said. "The President still believes the Senate is going to act."

Gibbs added that Obama was remaining personally involved in the process, stressing the importance of enacting reform.

"It's incumbent upon all of those in the executive and the legislative branch to take the steps necessary to address the concerns of the American people," he said. "We know that they're struggling with the high costs and the rising costs of health insurance; that we have to do something about affordability and something about insurance reform."

He added, "That's what the President believes the Senate is involved in right now."

Although the Senate approach is markedly different from the bill enacted by the House, which includes a "public option" insurance plan to compete with private insurers, Gibbs declined to say which approach the President favored.

Obama has in the past said he supported the creation of a public option but has frequently stressed that the ultimate goal of reform is more important than that particular method.

"What the President wants to do is see the process through the Senate, continue to make progress, and that's what the administration is working toward," Gibbs said when asked about the differing approaches.

He also noted that the Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, was still evaluating the potential benefits and drawbacks of the Senate's proposed expansion of Medicare.

"I don't want to get ahead of the CBO, because I know the CBO is working on just that, just as the CBO had told you all before that legislation bends the cost curve, that legislation would slow the growth rate in health care spending, that health care legislation wouldn't add to the deficit, but it would in fact help our fiscal situation," Gibbs said.

He added, "You've seen the CBO talk about the extended life to the Medicare trust fund that legislation that the Senate is currently debating would have in terms of the specific policy. Again, that's what the CBO is evaluating, and I think many on Capitol Hill await what they have to say."

Despite recent setbacks in the Senate debate over health reform legislation, the White House Monday expressed confidence that the bill would pass before the end of December. Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., a former Democrat who had until recently voted with them on most domestic issues, said Sunday on a television interview that he would not vote for the health reform bill in its current form. (Market News Provided by RTTNews)