More Uncertainty after Health Summit

I apologize for my delay in writing about the President’s Health Summit held last week, but I really don’t know what to say. The future of health reform remains uncertain, which is what I have been saying in my blogs since the health reform efforts began early last year.  

If you like political theater, than the seven hour summit was right up your alley. I enjoyed watching the Republicans and Democrats sit down together and discuss health care reform, but I don’t think the two sides are any closer together on the issues than they were a week ago.

Since conclusion of the summit, the pundits in town have been discussing the summit and the uncertain future of health care reform continuously. I watched many of the weekend news shows where they actually had a show of hands on who thought health reform would be enacted and those that didn’t. No clear answer there.

The President will release his thoughts on how to move forward later this week. It seems likely that the House will attempt to pass the Senate health care reform bill and then a budget reconciliation package (or the reconciliation side car as many are calling it) will be passed that will include changes and additions to the Senate health care bill. The budget reconciliation bill would not require 60 votes to pass in the Senate; it would only require 51 votes. The key question is whether the House has the votes to pass the Senate bill. Today, the White House said that they will have the votes in the House, but that is not at all clear.

As those in my personal and professional life know, I don’t like uncertainty and this is really pushing my tolerance to the edge. Maybe the President will provide a clear path forward later this week. For those in the children’s health community, let’s keep our fingers crossed that it results in health reform that works for children.