Rep. Weiner: Payment to states last potential deal breaker for House Dems

By GottaLaff

Nobody said this would be easy:

Some House Democrats believe their states would get shortchanged in the overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system and the funding issue is fast becoming a major hurdle to getting a bill signed into law.

How much of a burden states would have to shoulder for a proposed Medicaid expansion is the latest friction point between the House and the Senate, and is threatening to blow a hole in the measure’s price tag. [...]

Lawmakers from these states and others are disgruntled because states that already offer more generous Medicaid coverage would be offered less additional assistance than states with relatively smaller programs. [...]

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) called it the last potential deal breaker from the perspective of House Democrats.

“It’s not so much a problem that Nebraska got [100 percent Medicare reimbursement],” he said. “We in the House thought everyone should get something like that, that we shouldn’t just expand Medicaid and then just cost shift it to the states. It would obviate everything we’re doing on stimulus and everything else by trying to relieve the burden on the states.” [...]

“There’s a general sense that we’re compromising a lot of stuff, that the White House is in favor of getting what they can as quickly as we can,” Weiner said.

He said that, in part, based on news of the possible loss of Vote #60, Martha Coakley.

Democrats acknowledged Friday that any agreement they reach in the coming days on the “overall bill” could sidestep politically difficult matters such as abortion and immigration provisions.

“There’s going to be follow-up meetings on those issues next week,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said, explaining that they were being put off in favor of working primarily on the main components of the bill. “Those issues need to be talked about on a member-to-member level.” [...]

Weiner said later that negotiations are “trending” toward the creation of a national health insurance exchange, as favored by the House over the state-based exchange in the Senate bill.

Who's on first?

Seriously, every time I think I've got a handle on the health care negotiations, I realize how behind I am.

Who's on third? I don't know.

I throw the ball to who. Whoever it is drops the ball and the guy runs to second. Who picks up the ball and throws it to What. What throws it to I Don't Know. I Don't Know throws it back to Tomorrow, Triple play. Another guy gets up and hits a long fly ball to Because. Why? I don't know! He's on third and I don't give a darn!

Abbott: What?

Costello: I said I don't give a darn!

Abbott: Oh, that's our shortstop.

And that's our health care reform... so far.