Roundup: Sen. Nelson Still Wants His Way on Health Care Bill
December 16, 2009 - 11:31am (Print)
This morning it seems if Senator Ben Nelson doesn't get his way on the issue of abortion coverage in the final health care reform bill he might sandbag the whole effort.
While Senator Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., was first seen as the Democrats' biggest obstacle, news reports today put him closer to being mollified by a "compromise" bill that does not include either a public option, or a trigger, or a Medicare buy-in.
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), once a critic of the legislation, appeared to be warming to the $848 billion package after Senate leaders said they were ready to jettison a plan to extend Medicare coverage to uninsured people as young as 55, an idea Lieberman denounced over the weekend. He said Tuesday that he expects to support the bill if that provision is dropped.
That potentially leaves the senator from Nebraska as the sole remaining Democrat who has threatened to join the Republican filibuster against the final passage of the health care reform bill. His main objection is the rejected attempt to ensure that any health insurance purchased in the newly created "exchanges" would not cover abortion services.
That would leave Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) as the only known holdout among the 60 lawmakers who caucus with Democrats. Senate leaders and White House officials were working hard Tuesday to convert the former Nebraska insurance commissioner, who has said he will not support the measure unless it bars the use of public money for abortion.
Meanwhile Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, who supported Sen. Nelson's failed amendment, seems to be signaling he may stand with the Democratic majority against a Republican filibuster, even if the final bill does not include the Nelson-Hatch amendment. Or at least, unlike Nelson, he's not yet threatening to join the filibuster unless he gets his way.
Casey's office has released a statement noting that the senator voted for the Nelson amendment and that he is continuing to work on the issue with Democratic leaders.
"Senator Casey has been an outspoken advocate for passing health insurance reform to provide quality coverage for tens of millions of Americans by increasing access to care and providing more security and stability for Americans worried about paying health care bills or losing coverage if they lose their job," the statement read.
"He also believes that this bill presents a unique opportunity to provide new and critical support for pregnant women. Too many women face pregnancy frightened and alone. No woman should have to walk that road alone. That is why he has introduced two amendments to help ensure that pregnant women have additional support and assistance to properly care for herself and her child. He believes there is bipartisan agreement for providing this kind of affirmative assistance to pregnant women."
In other news the Pew Internet & American Life Project released a study that found 1 in 6 teens report have received a sexually suggestive, nude or nearly nude picture via cell phone, a phenomenon otherwise known as "sexting."
The 800-person survey, released Tuesday by the nonprofit research group, found 15 percent of cell-phone-owning teens ages 12 to 17 had received nude or nearly nude photos by phone. Four percent of the teens said they had sent out sexually explicit photos or videos of themselves.
Older teens were more likely to send sexual images through text messages than younger teens. Four percent of 12-year-olds reported sending sexually suggestive images by text message, while 8 percent of 17-year-olds reported texting nude or partially nude photos.
The act of teens sending or receiving sexual-explicit pictures by other teens has been causing many states to consider modify child pornography laws, which otherwise can have states prosecuting teenagers for child pornography. However the Virginia State Crime Commission refused Tuesday to recommend legislation concerning sexting.
This year, lawmakers in at least 11 states introduced legislation aimed at sexting. Six states passed laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Mini-international roundup: India is considering changing its adoption rules to allow women to adopt if they are living separately from their spouse (but not divorced). The Gates Foundation is giving $22.9 million to increase contraceptive use in Kenya.
Bonus item: A woman writes a letter-to-the-editor on the emotional pain of giving birth to an anencephalic baby, in an era before ultrasounds.12/16
Pro-choice vs. pro-life: No end in sight Sioux City Journal
Obama Has Only 59 Votes for Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill as He Meets Democrats LifeNews.com
Lowden's evolving views on abortion Las Vegas Sun
12/15
Copenhagen Agreement = Population control Auburn Journal
Political failings and embryo case Irish Times
Adoption norms may become easier for women Times of India
Pro-Life Activists Warn Senators Casey and Nelson ... Christian News Wire
Pro-life attorney stymied in attempt to practice his profession OneNewsNow
Pro-Life Action League Goes Christmas Caroling at Chicago-Area Abortion Facilities Christian News Wire
Texas Governor Hopeful Kay Bailey Hutchison Under Fire for Missing Pro-Life Vote LifeNews.com
The Catholic case against health-care reform Catholic Culture
Permissive Abortion Laws May Be Hazardous To Mothers' Health Catholic Exchange
Are Pro-Abortion-Rights Catholic Groups Fake? U.S. News & World Report
The Health Battles That Won't Die: Lieberman, Taxes, Abortion Politics Daily
Obama, Democrats Threaten Ben Nelson to Back Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill LifeNews.com
Abortion report out-dated - Northland Health Radio New Zealand
Abortion remains issue in health care debate USA Today
District of Columbia Officials Ready to Pay for Abortions Once Obama Signs Bill LifeNews.com
Today's odds and ends on health care msnbc.com
Baltimore-based health organization to improve contraceptive use in Kenya Baltimore Sun
Milwaukee Archbishop: You Can't Call Yourself Catholic and Support Contraception Lifesite
Should sale of emergency contraceptives be restricted? Daily News & Analysis
There are so many aspects of this plan that the politicians keep overlooking though. The medical industry is wrought with overspending and has gone for too long without any regulation or oversight. Insurance premiums have gone up 138% for a reason and it isn't simply corporate greed.
Private insurance companies are a part of the problem, yes. When regarding health, private insurance never should have been allowed to be profitable business in the first place. For-profit insurance means requires a need to make money and inevitably that is going to affect the quality of the insurance that people are getting from the company. Companies don't want to spend money on an individual so they will take whatever measures necessary to ensure they don't have to. But the medical industry has been profiting all along as well. Procedural costs, visits, even x-rays cost varying amounts state to state, city to city and practitioners are being bounced around by pharmaceutical companies to try and make money while waiting a year or more for the insurance companies to pay up.
This may be why the US was ranked #37 according to the World Health Organization. http://www.ourblook.com/component/option,com_sectionex/Itemid,200076/id,...
Either health care needs to become a single unit in which there are no privatized barriers, which we may have lost since the rejection of the public option by the Senate, or we find a way to actually bring health care back to a fair free market based standing. The entire industry is wrought with greed from every angle, physicians hiking costs, pharmaceutical companies giving incentives for pushing their products, lobbyists for insurance company interests, and lobbyists for pharmaceutical interests. Where do we draw the line? Health care has had nothing to do with actual care for well beyond two decades.
