White House Releases New Health Reform Proposal—Congress Could Pass Reform Through Reconciliation - February 23, 2010

On February 22, President Obama released his version of health reform legislation. The President’s proposal largely uses the Senate-passed reform bill as its base and offers health coverage to 31 million additional Americans. The Administration’s proposal is estimated to cost $950 million over ten years—$75 billion more than the cost of the Senate-passed bill. The 11 page summary document and supporting materials provide few details about issues critical to safety net hospitals, but on a conference call this afternoon, White House officials said that unless specifically stated otherwise, the President’s proposal includes the provisions from the Senate-passed bill. The Senate-passed bill includes $43 billion in reductions in Medicaid and Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments over ten years. The bill also includes an extension of 340B drug discounts to the inpatient setting.

Democratic and Republican congressional leaders are scheduled to meet with the President for a televised bipartisan health reform summit on Thursday, February 25 at 10am EST. While the White House and Congressional leaders will be meeting in a bipartisan forum, top Democrats are reportedly making plans to pass a health reform bill, based on the President’s proposal, using the budget reconciliation process, which requires only 51 votes for passage in the Senate.