WASHINGTON — With the U.S. House approving a health-care plan, all the attention now turns to the U.S. Senate where U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu is considered one of five votes that could make or break the effort.
Democrats outnumber Republicans in the chamber, 60 to 40. But supporters of the health-care revamp proposed by Senate Democrats will need all 60 Democratic votes to block an expected Republican filibuster.
Landrieu, who opposes the plan in its current form, is one of the Senate’s Democratic moderates whose defection could sink the yearlong effort to pass health-care legislation.
“All eyes are going to be on her and a few others,” said Amanda Austin, director of federal public policy for the National Federation of Independent Business.
Senate Democrats are expected to introduce their legislation as early as today, coming up with a melding of pieces passed by two committees.
Landrieu said Tuesday she won’t vote for any plan that includes what is called the “public option” — the government-run insurance for the uninsured that was approved in the U.S. House.
“In my view, it will seriously impede the private market,” Landrieu said.
Landrieu said she wants to ensure that small businesses are not harmed as the legislation is cobbled together from the two bills that already have won committee approval.
In addition to four Democrats, one independent U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, of Connecticut, who caucuses with the Democrats, is threatening to join Republicans on the issue if the “public option” is contained in the final bill.
No doubt exists over where U.S. Sen. David Vitter stands. The Louisiana Republican will join the rest of his party members in the Senate — with the possible exception of one — and vote against the bill. Vitter, who held 20 “town hall” style meetings on the issue over the summer, said Tuesday that he got an earful from people worried about the matter.
“What people are most concerned about in Louisiana are premiums rising,” Vitter said.
Landrieu has been the subject of ads targeting the state from both sides of the issue.
The Employment Policies Institute, which focuses on entry-level employment, spent $10 million airing spots in six states including Louisiana. Rick Berman, executive director of the organization that opposes the bills, said that Louisiana being on the list was no accident.
“Mary Landrieu as well as the other people are senators that have indicated that they are not totally sold on the proposal,” Berman said Tuesday. “The more liberal element is trying to move them to the left and we want people in the state to have a balanced view.”
MoveOn, a nonprofit family of organizations that supports what it calls more “progressive” candidates and policies, did a radio ad in June against Landrieu over her position on the public option and collaborated on a television ad with the same message.
Nita Chaudhary, a MoveOn spokeswoman, pointed to Louisiana’s number of one in five residents without insurance as part of the group’s argument for Landrieu’s support on the measure.
“What is undeniable right now is that we are in an urgent and crisis situation in health care,” Chaudhary said Tuesday. “Because of the dynamics in the Senate, she could make the difference of whether we address that crisis or we don’t.”
In June, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who opposes the legislation, took out radio ads in Louisiana again targeting Landrieu.
“Senator Landrieu has expressed concern about some of the proposals,” Chamber spokeswoman Blair Latoff said Tuesday. “We’re reminding her how important it is to vote for a bill that brings down costs and provides more access to coverage and the current bills don’t do that.”
Landrieu is chairwoman of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. What the bill contains for that sector will play an important role in the debate as far as she is concerned, Landrieu said.
One Senate bill states that employers with 50 or more employees would need to pay a fee for each worker who receives a federal tax credit that is not covered. Another Senate bill says the threshold should be 25 employees.
Though the measures would exempt more than 90 percent of small businesses, it could be significant costs for larger companies. The penalties in the two Senate bills range from $400 to $750 per employee.
If a business has 100 employees and does not offer health coverage and 30 employees receive a tax credit, the employer would be penalized for all full-time employees, or $40,000.
Vitter said he believes that because health-care costs for employees likely exceeds the penalty, many companies will direct their workers to the public option.
“What do you think a lot of businesses are going to do?” Vitter said. “A lot of folks are going to be shut off from what they have.”
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