Senate Panel Explores Getting Health Reform Right
Oct 26th, 2009 | By Dawn Rivers Baker | Category: Politics & PolicyLast week, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship held yet another hearing on the subject of small businesses and health care reform. This latest in the multi-year series is perhaps most readily distinguished by the determination of both Congressional Democrats and the Obama Administration to get this done, as close to right now as possible. In fact, given that sort of determination, it is easy to understand why the top two lawmakers on this Committee — Chairwoman Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Ranking Member Olympia Snowe (R-ME) — seem equally determined to fight for small firms all the way to the President’s desk. And fighting is something it seems probable that they will have to do.
The Senate Finance Committee is inclined to seek affordability of health insurance premiums by using the tax code, naturally enough. However, there are some longstanding tax code inequities that are not addressed in proposed reform legislation, much to the dismay of both Landrieu and Snowe. Chairwoman Landrieu did seem to be very much aware of the issues potentially facing the self-employed and spent some time during the hearing considering how to resolve those issues and, as importantly, how to pay for them. However, the National Association for the Self-Employed was conspicuous by its absence from the second panel at the hearing, comprised of representatives of all the other small business advocacy groups.
