Senate negotiators pare costs of health care plan

Source: AP

WASHINGTON – Senate health care negotiators said Monday they've cut the cost of their 10-year coverage plan to under $880 billion, but they're not ready to shake hands yet on a bipartisan deal.

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Monday, the negotiators said they discussed illegal immigration, benefits for the poor, medical malpractice and restrictions on abortion coverage.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said they're close on a verification system to prevent illegal immigrants from getting government subsidies to buy health coverage.

~snip~

Negotiators also said they've found ways to reduce the cost of a planned expansion of Medicaid to cover more people near the federal poverty line. The issue is critical to winning support from governors, since the states share in the cost of the program. Baucus said his staff is trying to schedule a conference call with governors for Tuesday.

On medical malpractice, Conrad said the negotiators agreed that the federal government should provide funding for states to experiment with a range of alternatives to lawsuits.

On abortion, the negotiators are trying to come up with language that would extend current restrictions that prohibit federal funding for the procedure, except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.

Baucus' plan would require all Americans to get health insurance, either through an employer, a government program, or on their own...

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090914/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_overhaul

then they damn well better not cover Viagra and Cialis and the like!

of deciding the coverage......old men.

running everything.

Especially old white rich men who believe they are entitled to everything and that anyone who is not "them" isn't entitled to a damn thing.


bell hooks called it. We have white supremacist capitalistic patriarchy with institutionalized racism (and sexism and anti-glbt-ism).

He's shown where his loyalties lie.

What we've got here are insurance industry reps scheming with other insurance industry reps on how to further enrich the insurance industry.