Healthcare Open Thread

The Plum Line—Howard Dean: "Kill The Senate Bill": "In a blow to the bill grinding through the Senate, Howard Dean bluntly called for the bill to be killed...denouncing it as 'the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate.' ... The full interview is ... at Vermont Public Radio."

Washington Post—Obama urges Senate to pass health-care bill; Lieberman signals support: "President Obama urged Senate Democrats on Tuesday to overcome lingering disputes and push a health-care overhaul through the chamber before Christmas, as vigorous negotiations continued behind the scenes to lock down the last votes needed for final passage. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), once a critic of the legislation, appeared to be warming to the $848 billion package after Senate leaders said they were ready to jettison a plan to extend Medicare coverage to uninsured people as young as 55, an idea Lieberman denounced over the weekend. He said Tuesday that he expects to support the bill if that provision is dropped."

The Hill—Lieberman expresses regret to colleagues over healthcare tension: "Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) told Democratic colleagues at a White House meeting that he regretted the tension he’d created within the conference during the healthcare debate. Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-Independent who still caucuses with his former party, stopped short of apologizing. 'I just said I know it's been difficult for people and I regretted it, it's been difficult for all of us,' Lieberman said."

The Hill—Snowe has 'misgivings' about health bill, Christmas vote: "Democrats from the White House to Capitol Hill are still holding out hopes of winning the support of Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) for their healthcare bill. But despite major concessions made to centrist Democrats, Snowe has not yet jumped aboard. 'Yes, I do have misgivings because I understand that there are a lot of unintended consequences,' Snowe said Tuesday. 'We haven't had this bill laid down in its entirety so it makes it difficult, I think, to make a decision on a bill in such a short timeframe'."

Discuss.