By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — The health care bill that passed the House last week goes too far in restricting abortion coverage, U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln said today.
Lincoln, D-Ark., said she opposes an amendment added Saturday to the House bill that would prohibit federal dollars from being used in the new insurance marketplace, or exchange, on plans that cover abortions other than those related to rape, incest or danger to the mother’s life.
“I think it does overstep, in that although it does maintain current law it also takes another step where it prohibits private dollars from being spent on private insurance in the private marketplace that actually would cover women’s reproductive services,” Lincoln told reporters after attending a Veterans Day ceremony at the state Capitol.
The measure effectively “would preclude the insurance industry from offering those products,” she said.
Lincoln said the health care bill she worked on in the Senate Finance Committee adheres to the Hyde amendment of 1976, which bars the use of federal funds to pay for abortions.
“We went to great lengths in the Finance Committee bill to make sure that we were extremely respectful to current law, that we didn’t add to it or take away from it in any way,” she said.
Lincoln’s reputation as a moderate Democrat has put her at the center of the debate over health care reform. More liberal U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Little Rock, voted for the House bill last week and said Wednesday he supports the amendment by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., restricting abortion coverage.
“The Stupak amendment I think came closest to what current law is,” Snyder told reporters after attending the Veterans Day ceremony in Little Rock.
“But that process goes on. We’ll continue to have those discussions,” he said.
Asked if he expects the Stupak amendment to survive, Snyder said, “I don’t know. I think we clearly will have language that will make clear in some way what the limits on funding for elective abortions will be.”
Gov. Mike Beebe said Friday he is concerned that the House’s health care bill would add $205 million in Medicaid costs to the state budget by 2015. Snyder said Wednesday the bill is “in a state of flux,” and there is still time to hear the concerns of Beebe and other governors.
But Snyder added, “There is a cost to states of doing nothing either, when we have a whole lot of uninsured people and small businesses that can’t afford health insurance. That hurts their competitiveness as a business.”
Lincoln said lawmakers should be cognizant of the impact on states, but she said increasing the number of people with health insurance should lower long-term costs.
“But it is going to be a shared responsibility” between the federal and state governments, she said.
On Tuesday, former President Bill Clinton addressed Democratic senators on health care reform in what was widely seen as an effort to nudge moderate Democrats such as Lincoln, who has said she opposes a government-run insurance option.
The House bill passed last week includes a public option, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said a public option will be part of the Senate’s health care bill.
Lincoln said today her views have not changed, but she agreed with Clinton’s statement to the senators that the perfect should not be the enemy of the good.
“I’ve used every opportunity I could possibly have in the past several weeks to try and affect this bill in a way that I think is good and productive for Arkansans,” she said.
