Partisan Debate Leaves Stimulus Bill at ‘Impasse’

Congressional leaders said Nov. 15 that action on an economic stimulus bill will not occur until at least after the Thanksgiving vacation, as Democrats and Republicans remain sharply divided over the legislation, the New York Times reports. Both sides accused the other of being unwilling to compromise and of violating the spirit of bipartisanship, leaving the fate of the package -- and the debate over what type of health insurance subsidies it should include -- up in the air (Clymer, New York Times, 11/15). On Nov. 14, Senate Republicans effectively killed a $73 billion, Democratic-sponsored economic stimulus bill that included subsidies to help unemployed workers purchase health insurance. The bill would have provided $14.3 billion to extend benefits for unemployed workers by 13 weeks and $12.3 billion to help unemployed workers purchase health coverage through COBRA, which allows unemployed workers to retain health coverage under their former employers' insurance plans by paying 102% of the premiums. The legislation would also have allowed states to extend Medicaid coverage to unemployed workers who do not qualify for COBRA and would have provided $1.4 billion to boost the federal match to states for Medicaid. Last month, the House approved a $100 billion GOP-sponsored bill, which President Bush supports, that includes a number of tax cuts and would increase funding for the Social Services Block Grant program by $3 billion to allow states to provide health insurance to unemployed workers and their families (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 11/15). Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) "dismissed" the notion that Democrats would prefer no bill at all to one that does not include their priorities. "There is significant enough interest that we have to do something," he said (Earle et al., CongressDaily, 11/15).