Dems Proceed on Health Care Without Ailing Kennedy

Plan charges employers who don't insure, has gov't option

(NEWSER) - Senate Democrats outlined a revised health care bill last night that lops $400 billion off the price tag of an earlier trillion-dollar proposal. The plan trims costs, the AP reports, by including a government-run insurance option to compete with private insurers and charging employers $750 annually for each employee not offered insurance through his job. The proceeds would be used to subsidize those who can't afford coverage. More»

Senator calls for legislation to go forward as he starts fresh round of chemotherapy

(NEWSER) - Ted Kennedy is undergoing a new round of chemotherapy and is expected to miss this month's debate on the health care overhaul he crafted, the Hill reports. The senator has been weakened by his brain cancer treatment, but he has insisted the process move forward during his absence from Capitol Hill. He plans to continue playing a leading role from his Massachusetts home. More»

Dems' options if Brown wins not looking good

(NEWSER) - With polls showing the majority of Americans opposed to the Democrats' health care reform bill, a victory for Scott Brown in Massachusetts today could sound the death of the party's yearlong effort at health reform. If Dems try to proceed with the reforms in the wake of a Brown victory, the GOP will have a strong case that a liberal minority is ignoring the will of voters to push its own agenda, the Washington Post reports. More»

Kennedy's death left a void—and no one is stepping up to fill it

(NEWSER) - As Democrats fight among themselves over health care, it’s becoming painfully clear that they lack a clear public leader on the issue, writes Manu Raju for Politico. In part it’s because, with a number of House and Senate committees involved, there are too many cooks stirring the pot, and in part because there’s no Ted Kennedy-esque figure who commands respect. Liberals distrust Max Baucus; Chris Dodd, who stepped in for Kennedy and drafted a competing bill, is more focused on financial reform. More»

(NEWSER) - Harry Reid yesterday pulled the plug on painstaking efforts to win bipartisan support for health care reform, telling Max Baucus to drop a proposal, aimed at wooing Republicans, that would tax health benefits and leave out a public insurance option. The Senate majority leader told Baucus, the Finance Committee chairman who's been pushing negotiations, that the effort wasn't worth the few votes it might win, as it would cost the bill 10 to 15 Democratic votes. More»