The fact that Olympia Snowe dismissed the AHIP report pretty much says how she's going to vote. Yesterday the insurance industry issued a report saying they'd raise health insurance rates if reform passes, which caught everyone off guard. A Senate Finance Committee vote is expected around noon.
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On the Democratic side, clues may emerge that liberals are eyeing a compromise on a government-run insurance plan once the bill reaches the floor. Close watchers will take note when Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, talks about the need to give Americans more choices; experts and the public seem to agree with him.
Still, the moment of truth is expected sometime after lunch, when the committee chairman, Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, calls for the ayes and nays.
A vote by Ms. Snowe in favor of the bill would go a long way toward vindicating the effort by Mr. Baucus to work with Republicans over three months of intense drafting sessions.
The other Republicans who participated in the process — Mr. Grassley and Senator Michael B. Enzi of Wyoming — will speak out strongly in opposition to the measure. Still, many of their views were taken into account, including Mr. Grassley’s strong insistence that any new taxes and fees be confined to the health care arena. NYT
