Guest Blog: Sen. Dede Feldman Reports on DC Meeting on Health Care Reform

Sen. Feldman (right) and fellow legislators at the White House

This is a guest blog by State Senator Dede Feldman (D-Bernalillo 13), who is a member of the White House Working Group of State Legislators for Health Reform.

On Tuesday I was in DC, along with a delegation representing over 1,000 state legislators who have signed a statement of principles calling for comprehensive health reform including a public option. It’s the second time I’ve been to the Capitol as part of the White House Working Group of State Legislators for Health Reform. And what a historic week to be there! As I write this blog, the Democrats have now assembled the 60 votes needed to overcome the bitter partisan divide that cast a pall over the Senate office buildings we visited. But last week, that was far from certain, as the public option bit the dust and various alternatives were unsuccessfully floated. Among these was a Medicare-“buy-in” for people 55-65 yrs. old, which seemed to have some currency until Sen. Joe Lieberman (whose office is right next to Sen. Bingaman’s), dropped his bomb. Another alternative, a private non-profit plan operated by the Office of Personnel Management, which runs the Congressional plan, is still in the bill.

As Senate staffers continued to draft a bill, four of us delegated by the larger group (Rep. Sharon Treat, of Maine, Sen. Karen Keiser, of Washington, Rep. Krysten Sinema, of Az., and me) visited with the staff of the Senate HELP committee, Sen. Olympia Snow, Sen. Susan Collins, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senator Maria Cantwell. I also met personally with Sen. Bingaman and Sen. Udall, and all of us met with Mike Hatch, White House Policy Advisor, at the White House.

Our message was clear. “We need action now, and it must be affordable and comprehensive." To give details on how we felt the bill could be improved, we delivered a White Paper outlining key elements critical for effective reform, including “bridge” funding for the states to help pay for Medicaid and state health insurance programs, and comprehensive insurance reforms that would kick in immediately and, given the mandate to buy insurance, regulate insurance companies like public utilities.

With states playing a crucial role in implementation of the reforms, Senators and staffers welcomed our suggestions and stories. Senator Bingaman was especially responsive to New Mexico’s Medicaid eligibility dilemma, which threatens to scuttle our State Coverage Insurance (SCI) program. On Saturday his office notified me that he was able to get an amendment into final version, which will be voted on this week. It will allow our entire childless adult population that would be shifting into the new 1115 to receive maximum federal match. He also indicated that he felt confident that bridge funding to cover some Medicaid recipients who would no longer be eligible come 2014 would be forthcoming in other legislation.

As for stronger insurance reforms, amendments to the bill announced today also impose penalties on insurance companies for raising premiums when people get sick, and ban discrimination vs. pre-existing conditions in children immediately -- not in 2014. There is also explicit language in the bill that will protect a patient’s choice of doctors, additional assistance for clinics and small businesses as well.

(For a link to the entire “Mangers Amendment” to the Senate Health Care Reform bill go here.)

Although I remain very disappointed that the public option is not in this bill, I still support it. I agree with both Bingaman and Udall, who told me that, with the second highest number of uninsured, and the nation’s fastest growing premiums, New Mexico stands to gain tremendously. Exactly how much? Over 360,000 New Mexicans who don’t have it now could get insurance, either with the help of subsidies or Medicaid. That’s a major advance.

This is a guest blog by State Senator Dede Feldman. You can read previous posts on this topic here and here. Check out our archive for a collection of posts about President Obama's health care reform effort.

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