Thursday, January 21, 2010

This is depressing. President Obama squandered all of 2009 trying to pass healthcare reform, only to have Speaker Nancy Pelosi today concede: “I don’t see the votes for it at this time.”

Pelosi said the Senate will have to amend its version of a healthcare reform bill before her chamber can pass it.

“I don’t think it’s possible to pass the Senate bill in the House,” Pelosi told reporters after a morning meeting with her caucus. “I don’t see the votes for it at this time.”

Pelosi described House Democrats as vehemently opposed to several provisions in the Senate legislation, including one that benefits only Nebraska’s Medicaid system, deal President Obama struck to win the support of Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), and a tax on expensive healthcare benefits, the so-called “Cadillac benefits.”

“There are certain things the members simply cannot support,” she said.

President Obama added to the confusion Wednesday when he appeared to endorse having both the House and the Senate start from scratch, and voting on a scaled-back package of popular provisions that would crack down on insurance companies but provide health coverage to far fewer additional people.

“We know that we need insurance reform, that the health insurance companies are taking advantage of people,” Obama told ABC News in an interview. “We know that we have to have some form of cost containment because, if we don’t, then our budgets are going to blow up. And we know that small businesses are going to need help.”

All I can say is, what a mess. This is not change I can believe in. It’s business as usual.