HEALTH REFORM: The HELP Committee's Markup Marathon

Does it seem like it's been weeks since the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee began marking up its health reform bill? It has. And although you may be indundated with tales of Democratic infighting, the HELP committee, for its part, has been a model of party unity as it works (and works and works) on the Affordable Health Choices Act.

Members of the committee have proposed hundreds of amendments, and HELP has accepted a number of them (from both sides of the aisle) since it took up the bill back on June 17. But nearly all of those that have gone to a full committee roll call vote have been approved -- or rejected -- strictly along party lines, 13-10 (10-13 for the unlucky amendments that happened to be proposed by HELP’s outnumbered Republicans).

Thursday, Day 10 of proceedings, was no exception, as committee Democrats continued to vote down Republican amendments. From today’s Politico Pulse:

The HELP committee, meanwhile, went to battle Thursday over a series of amendments that likely foreshadowed the floor debate. Many of the amendments considered Thursday were decided on straight party line votes. [N.C. Sen. Richard] Burr sought to eliminate the government-run health plan. It failed 13-10. [Wyoming Sen. Michael] Enzi wanted to reduce the eligibility standards for premium subsidies from 400 percent of poverty to 250 percent. It failed 13-10. [Utah Sen. Orrin] Hatch proposed medical liability reforms, including caps. It failed 13-10.

Also yesterday, the committee accepted a Democratic amendment to minimize or eliminate cost-sharing for preventive health services for women.

Earlier in the week, the committee agreed to limit the penalty on individuals who do not obtain health insurance coverage to $750 or less. As Kasie Hunt reported in Congress Daily (subscription):

The change "creates parity between the payment that an employee would have to make if he failed to obtain coverage and the payment made by employers, which is also $750 per employee per year," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who introduced the amendment during the HELP panel's ninth day marking up the bill. It "requires the same level of shared responsibility for employer and employee," he said. The original bill would have assessed a penalty of 50 percent of the cost of coverage for an individual or family, an amount Bingaman said could be overwhelming.

On Tuesday, the committee adopted a plan to establish a voluntary long-term care insurance program that would pay at least $50 a day to disabled adults. Individuals would have to pay monthly premiums -- possibly $65 to $100 -- for “at least five years and be working for at least three of those years to be able to draw benefits,” according to Congress Daily (subscription). The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the program will raise $58 billion over 10 years because it will not pay out any benefits during its first five years of operation.

Sen. Chris Dodd, filling in for HELP Chairman Edward Kennedy while he continues his battle with cancer, has not set a timetable for finishing the markup. The panel will reconvene on Monday. And with the Finance Committee still negotiating its reform proposal behind the scenes, any floor action by the full Senate is still weeks away. Our advice: enjoy the cool weather before things really heat up!