House could vote Sat. on health care

WASHINGTON — Democrats in the House of Representatives struggled Friday to find enough votes to pass sweeping health care legislation, as lawmakers prepared for an all-day debate and perhaps a final vote on the bill today.

President Barack Obama was scheduled to visit Capitol Hill early today to give the House’s 258 Democrats a pep talk.

Democratic leaders Friday found increasing numbers of their conservative and moderate caucus members — even some liberals — ready to vote no for a variety of reasons, including concern about the bill’s abortion and immigration provisions. The entire House will be up for election next year.

House Democratic leaders hope to take an up-or-down vote on the proposal today, but they warn that it could slip to as late as Tuesday.

“There are many people who are still trying to get a comfort level that this is the right thing to do,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Although Hoyer said that “we’re very close” to having enough votes to prevail, he acknowledged that the vote could be delayed beyond today.

“I don’t think there are 218 votes there right now,” said Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., citing the number needed to pass the House. Davis, who’s running for governor in Alabama next year, planned to vote no because of concerns about the bill’s impact on business and its funding.

In addition to other changes, the bill would create a government-run health insurance plan, or public option, to compete with private insurers. People could keep coverage they now have, while a health exchange, or marketplace, would be created so consumers could easily shop for policies.

Insurers wouldn’t be able to deny anyone coverage because of pre-existing conditions and couldn’t charge anyone higher premiums because of gender.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 2019 under the plan, 96 percent of eligible Americans would have health care coverage. The CBO estimates the plan’s 10-year cost at $891 billion.

No Republicans are expected to back the Democratic health care plan, and at least 25 Democrats are expected to oppose it.

That means Democratic leaders can’t afford to lose many more.

At least 20 Democrats could walk away from the bill if their concerns about abortion aren’t met. Current law prohibits federal funds from being used for abortion except in cases of rape or incest, or if a woman’s life is in danger.

The House Democratic bill says no federal money would be used for abortion services unless a pregnancy was the result of rape or incest or endangered a woman’s life. Only private funds, generated by the patients’ private premium payments, could be used to pay for abortion services under other conditions. Neither side of the abortion debate is satisfied with that.

Democratic leaders are also trying to find ways to make the bill’s policies on illegal immigration more acceptable.

Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said many Hispanic lawmakers aren’t happy with language backed by the White House that would prohibit illegal immigrants from buying health insurance within the proposed exchange, even if they use their own money to buy it from private companies.

Some Democrats also object to a plan to pay for part of the bill by raising taxes on single filers with adjusted gross incomes of more than $500,000 and joint filers earning more than $1 million.