Small Biz Health Care Daily: The Senate and Health Care

The August 20 Wall Street Journal reported that Democrats are considering placing portions of their health care plan under the budget reconciliation process, so they could avoid the possibility of having to gather 60 votes to avoid a filibuster.

Raymond J. Keating, chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, observed:

“Raising the possibility of moving big, expensive portions of this health care agenda under reconciliation exposes the fundamental problems of what President Obama and congressional leaders are trying to do. Support has been plummeting in the polls, and the plan has gained no substantive bipartisan support because more and more people are coming to understand that this is all about government getting more involved in running health care. Beyond the hard-core Left, people generally understand that this would mean higher costs and diminished quality of care. Taxpayers – including small businesses, especially with the ‘pay or play’ mandate – would face major tax increases, while businesses and consumers would face fewer options in the health care marketplace due to more regulations, mandates and government-run programs.”