Reid, Pelosi Work to Save Health Care

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi are working to salvage health care this weekend in the wake of Scott Brown’s election to the Senate that shattered Democrats’ filibuster-proof supermajority. The pair is working on changes to the Senate version of the bill that would appease more liberal House members (Pelosi said earlier she didn’t have the votes to pass the Senate version as is). The changes would be in separate legislation. It’s the fastest path to passage, and neither leader is sure they’ll get enough support from Democrats. Complicating matters, the changes must be germane to the budget to pass them through reconciliation, which requires only a majority of votes in the Senate. Changes under consideration are similar to those agreed to in earlier negotiations, and include: easing the tax on “Cadillac” insurance plans, more Medicare cuts and taxes, and spiking the special deal to pay for all new Medicaid enrollees in Nebraska. Pelosi also wants new insurance exchanges to be national, instead of statewide.