Pelosi Going For The Gold

We know the healthcare rape and pillage is about to begin, but it is still hard to keep the kibbies down especially after all the wheeling and dealing that was done behind closed doors at the White House minus C-Span.

Pelosi says Congress close to health deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday congressional Democrats were close to agreement on merging their healthcare bills but still faced challenges in blending the two approaches.

For the second consecutive day, Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders met with President Barack Obama at the White House to discuss ways to reconcile the House’s healthcare overhaul with a version passed by the Senate.

“We’ve had a very intense couple of days,” Pelosi told reporters after the White House meeting. “I think we are very close to reconciliation, respectful of the challenges.”

Obama wants more taxes; anyone surprised?  Can you say indexed for inflation?  Of course not!

Obama urged the House Democratic leaders to include a tax on high-priced health insurance policies that is in the Senate bill, The New York Times reported. Obama has previously said he favors such a tax on so-called Cadillac plans.

Let’s ram it through:

SPEED THE PROCESS

To speed the process along, Congress plans to dispense with the traditional House-Senate conference committee — which could face procedural challenges from Senate Republicans — and let House and Senate leaders negotiate the merger.

“We’re in a can-do mood,” Representative Xavier Becerra, a member of the House leadership, told reporters after a morning meeting in Pelosi’s office to plot negotiating strategy before House Democratic leaders talk to members by phone on Thursday.

And the un-Constitutional part?

Both bills would require most Americans to have insurance, give subsidies to help some pay for coverage and create exchanges where the uninsured could compare and shop for plans.

That folks is called a mandate that is not anywhere inside the Constitution.  This bill will continue to help the health insurance companies.

Healthcare stocks have gained ground as the healthcare debate has dragged on since summer and investors have seen changes they believe are more favorable to companies.

The S&P Health Care Sector index has gained 32 percent since late February 2009 when Obama released initial healthcare proposals in his budget. But by comparison, the broader S&P 500 is up 51 percent during the same period.