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Health care issues: What do minority Republicans want, and does it matter?
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A look at key issues in the health care debate:
THE ISSUE: Republicans are the minority party in both houses of Congress. What health care proposals have they advanced, and are they going anywhere?
THE POLITICS: The most viable Republican proposal on health care has come from Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, to use the threat of government insurance to force private insurers to lower prices. President Barack Obama and many Democrats saw some political value in including Snowe's "trigger" plan, but ultimately rejected it for one that would permit states to opt out of government insurance.
Other GOP plans have next to no chance of becoming law. House Republicans on Wednesday released a bill draft that focuses on bringing down costs and limiting malpractice lawsuits. The bill leaves out many provisions of the Democrats' 1,990-page legislation, such as new requirements for employers to insure their employees. It also doesn't block insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions.
The Republican plan would only make a small dent in the number of uninsured Americans, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In an analysis released Wednesday, the CBO said the GOP plan would reduce the number of uninsured by 3 million, compared with the Democratic bill that would reduce the number by 36 million. Both estimates are for the year 2019. The budget office says the Republican plan would reduce federal deficits by $68 billion over the 10-year period, and push down premiums for privately insured people.
WHAT IT MEANS: A rewrite of health care policy is the Democrats' signature issue — a plus for the president's party if it meets their goals of covering nearly every American without adding to the deficit. But if it underwhelms, Republicans will blame the Democrats and ask the voters to turn them out of Congress. The GOP's top targets: Democratic freshmen from districts Republican presidential contender John McCain won in 2008.
_ Laurie Kellman
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