President Obama Will Continue to Pursue Health Care Reform

In the State of the Union address on January 27, 2010, President Obama signaled that he and his administration will not give up on health care reform. He urged Congress to look beyond partisan politics and work together to reach a compromise on health care reform "to finish the job for the American people."

The election of Republican Scott Brown to replace Sen. Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts has thrown into question whether a health care reform bill can pass Congress. Once Brown officially becomes a member of the Senate, the Republicans will have 41 seats and the Democrats will lose their filibuster proof majority.

Since the Massachusetts special election, Democratic Congressional leaders have been meeting to discuss how to proceed on health care reform. Various options have been discussed, including the following:

1. Quickly reach a compromise among House and Senate Democratic leaders to push through a final bill before Brown can be seated. Obama and other Democrats quickly rejected this idea.

2. The House can pass the Senate version of the bill and send it directly to the president without requiring another Senate vote. House Democratic leadership has stated that they do not have the votes to pass the Senate bill without changes.

3. Another option would be for the House to pass the Senate bill and both chambers could then work on a bill to "fix" the issues in dispute between the House and Senate. This approach could avoid a possible filibuster in the Senate if done through a budget reconciliation process. Some moderate Democrats, including Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, have stated this approach could destroy any opportunity for bipartisan cooperation on other matters.

It appears based on Obama's comments in the State of the Union address that he will continue to pursue health care reform, but the process will be slowed, and there will likely be efforts to reach a compromise acceptable to at least some Republicans. This will be challenging as the existing bills are themselves the result of months of negotiations among Democrats and new compromises with Republicans may threaten the delicate balance reached in these earlier negotiations. Thus, the debate over health care reform continues, but the road ahead is much more unclear than it was just a few days ago. Stay tuned!

If you have questions regarding health care reform, you can contact Kevin Woodhouse.

This publication is intended for general information purposes only and does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice.  The reader must consult with legal counsel to determine how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to the reader's specific circumstances.