As I noted earlier, Senate Finance Committee Democrats talked health care yesterday in what appears to have been a productive meeting. So productive, in fact, that Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)--who has said he can't support the bill--now says he's "very" optimistic that the panel will pass legislation.
"The meeting we had last night helps me say that," Rockefeller told the Washington Post's Ezra Klein.
Separately, Rockefeller said that Baucus has already begun making assurances to committee Democrats that their concerns will be addressed. "[I]t was the best meeting we've ever had with the chairman. He told me they'd make sure CHIP is preserved. He knows he needs our votes."
Tipping his hand a bit, Rockefeller added, "That's why I said I wouldn't vote for the bill. Democrats need leverage." He says he already has 25 amendments ready to go when hearings on the bill begin.
Rockefeller says that Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) is under intense pressure from within her party to defect, but, as we've been noticing, she seems to be holding firm...at least for now.

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blmack
September 18, 2009 1:32 PM
Maybe Snowe will hop over to the good side like Specter when all is said and done.
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Schmed
September 18, 2009 1:59 PM in reply to blmack
What would be her re-election chances in ME?
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wbgonne
September 18, 2009 2:16 PM in reply to Schmed
I don't think it would make a bit of difference. They vote for her, not her party.
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mcc
September 18, 2009 4:35 PM in reply to wbgonne
Has Snowe's behavior this year altered her personal luster within Maine any?
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wbgonne
September 18, 2009 6:06 PM in reply to mcc
What behavior?
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theone718
September 18, 2009 6:45 PM
Yea the good news about this is that this bill is guranteed to move to the left. How much is the question but with Wyden, Rockefeller and Schumer ready to go I know they can fix this bill up.
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hsr0601
September 19, 2009 9:01 AM
The State Of "Yes We Can", Minnesota Knows Better !!
1. As regards a make-believe scheme, the source of funding coming from a middle class is utterly against the commitment of Democratic party.
2. No cost-competitive advantage does not clear the grave concern about the unsustainable cost of overall health care program in the long run.
3. Even with some benefit for primary practitioners, the baseless scheme does not come with fundamental payment reform, or a pay for value reimbursement formula. It means that the insurer-friendly scheme is not cleaning up the concerns over a quality issue and $9trillion of deficit over the next decade.
((Here is some of CBO analysis : While the costs of the financial bailouts and economic stimulus bills are staggering, they are only a fraction of the coming costs from Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that each year Medicaid will expand by 7 percent, Medicare by 6 percent, and Social Security by 5 percent. These programs face a 75-year shortfall of $43 trillion--60 times greater than the gross cost of the $700 billion TARP financial bailout)).
4. For Medicare & Medicaid system to survive from the most wasteful structure on earth, enough savings by ways of fundamental changes need to be secured, in return, the savings thereof suffice to meet the goal of well-planned public option.
((Even with far less visits to docs, which average a half or a third of them in any other free states, Americans pay roughly twice as much per person right now)).
5. For the record, prior to nation-wide deployment of reform, The State Of "Yes We Can", Minnesota influenced by Mayo clinic spends "20 percent" less per patient than the national average and 31 percent less than in the highest cost state. It highlights that no substantial tax raise is needed at least for sure.
((The $583 billion of revenue package, and the astronomical savings of public option aside, "20%" of $923.5bn (the combined Medicare and Medicaid cost per year, as of July) represents around $184.7bn per year and 1.847trillion over the next decade, and this patient-centered value alone could be sufficient to meet the goal of public option)).
6. In brief, the long-awaited and most hopeful health care plan is to meet these criterias : Affordability, Quality, and A Check function against runaway premiums thereof.
Clearly enough, due largely to its lower overhead cost, purchasing power and fundamental payment reform, the well-planned public option would be an even better candidate than the fabricated scheme by THE INDUSTRY in these aforementioned regards.
Now is the moment to turn page to contemporary energy and financial upgrades glossed over in 8 years.
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