Nearly 47 million Americans do not have insurance coverage. It’s time to fix the system. There is much debate on the best way to address healthcare reform and to lower costs to make quality healthcare available to all citizens. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is engaged in this debate and is working with the government toward comprehensive reform.
The Current Situation
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Daily Updates
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In 2009, the House and Senate passed versions of healthcare reform bills, both without Republican support. The bills were in the process of being merged late in 2009, and it appeared a final bill was about to be passed by Congress in early 2010. This has now changed.
Following Republican Senator Scott Brown’s election to the U.S. Senate, the future of healthcare reform is uncertain. Democrats no longer have the 60-vote majority needed to advance the legislation in the Senate without Republican support.
President Obama has indicated he might use a U.S. Senate procedure called reconciliation to bypass Republicans. The procedure would allow lawmakers to attach the healthcare proposal to a budget bill. Democrats would need only a majority — 51 votes — to pass the legislation.
The President’s Plan
On Feb. 25, President Obama held a televised healthcare summit with Republican and Democratic lawmakers to share ideas on healthcare reform.The summit did not produce a bipartisan breakthrough on health reform. Republicans continue to oppose the Senate version of the healthcare reform bill and the new reform proposal released by the president.
As with past plans, the President’s plan contains some items we support and others that raise concerns. We believe that certain provisions will make coverage even more expensive.
Read highlights of the President's plan and view the What We Support and Our Concerns pages to learn more.
Next Steps
The president made it clear in a March 3 statement that Democratic leaders will push aggressively to have House Democrats pass the Senate bill. This would be followed by a strategy to pass a separate "sidecar" reconciliation bill containing key changes to the underlying Senate bill. The sidecar bill is expected to contain many provisions from the President's proposal. President Obama and the Democratic leadership hope to pass legislation before the end of March. In the meantime, Democratic leadership continues to push forward with other reform tactics such as recalling anti-trust legislation that allows tax exemption status for insurance companies. Republicans continue to argue that congressional leadership start over on its reform efforts.
What Blue Cross Supports
Going forward, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and our Association continue to support insurance market reform and an overhaul of healthcare administration. We believe:
- Reform should cover all Americans, ensure that no one falls through the cracks, and make pre-existing condition exclusions a thing of the past.
- A mandate for all to have insurance is key to ensuring the success of reform.
- Reform must make healthcare more affordable for working families and small businesses and put the healthcare system on a sustainable path.
- These goals are achievable and should be pursued on a bipartisan basis.
- Reform should address the underlying drivers of healthcare costs.
Please stay tuned for additional updates as the healthcare reform process moves forward.
