Health Reform Faces Tougher Battle in Senate

A very different health bill enters a sharply divided Senate
By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 9, 2009 6:48 AM CST
Health Reform Faces Tougher Battle in Senate
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday,Nov. 3,2009, following the weekly caucus luncheons.   (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

"That was easy," Nancy Pelosi quipped after health care reform squeaked through the House; viewed from the other side of the Capitol, this is no joke. As the action shifts to the Senate, Harry Reid has a tough hand to play. The GOP minority wields more power in the Senate, and Reid can't afford to lose a single member of his caucus, the New York Times reports.

Reid will "have to go through all sorts of contortions," to court Dem skeptics like Mary Landrieu and Ben Nelson, a spokesman said. The Senate bill has key differences from its House counterpart, Bloomberg reports:

  • The Senate would tax insurers on deluxe benefit plans to fund health reform, while the House would levy a surtax on the wealthiest Americans;
  • The House bill has an employer mandate, whereas the Senate bill charges large employers of low-income workers a fee;
  • The public option, opposed by the Senate finance committee, may not make it into the final version of the bill.
(More Nancy Pelosi stories.)

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