Can 16 senators solve the health care crisis?

Because the bill requires almost everyone to buy their health insurance through government-regulated private companies, it effectively ends the practice of people getting their insurance through their employers. That means 130 million Americans would be forced to find new coverage.

This was one of the key reasons why the Clinton Administration’s plan failed, according to health care observers. While people acknowledged that the system was broken, they still wanted the option to keep what they had.

Public opinion
A recent poll conducted by the independent Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that the public still feels this way.

Overall, 17 percent of respondents said they would prefer to buy their own insurance, while 39 percent would rather get it from an employer. And a majority of employer-insured voters believes it would be harder to buy their own plans in the individual marketplace.

"There are strong policy reasons for building upon the employer-based system," said the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in a letter to congressional leaders.

"It provides a ready-made pooling mechanism, has lower administrative costs than individual coverage, and carries out complex negotiations with insurers that the average family is not equipped to manage."

Another sign of the bill's failings, the lobbyists say, is the absence of two key Democratic senators as signatories on the legislation.

Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., has lent encouragement to Wyden's efforts, but not an endorsement. And while Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., said that the HAA "proves that Democrats and Republicans can come together" for health care reform, she has also withheld her official support.

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And across the aisle, Republicans and their supporters claim that the new reforms would be paid for by taxing businesses and the wealthy.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said it’s not usual to see opposition from both sides when sweeping reforms are proposed.

"Once we actually get [the bill] to where we'll start considering it, strap on your seat beat, and get your shoulder harness on too,” said Nelson.

Starting point
Sens. Wyden and Bennett have no illusions about the difficulty in this mission. "Nobody can underestimate how hard this is," said Wyden.

Bennett said that their bill is "a starting point" for the new president to launch his assault on comprehensive health care reform. He says everything in the bill is negotiable. But playing party politics, he believes, will doom health care reform.

"Whether it's Obama bringing 'change' or McCain bringing 'reform,' if they run into health care and offer an ideologically pure solution that appeals only to base of the party, you're going to see the Clinton thing repeated," said Bennett.

Wyden said he'll put his team's efforts in high gear shortly after Election Day. And after the new president has had a few nights in the White House, Wyden said, he will make the call.

"This thing isn't written in concrete," Wyden said he'll tell the president-elect. "We think we've got a good start here. We think we've got something to work with."

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