Reid says reform bill will make health care a right, not privilege

By Michael Mishak

Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010 | 7:59 p.m.

Sen. Harry Reid told a capacity crowd at his health care forum at UNLV Thursday evening that when reform legislation is signed into law “no state will have a better deal than the state of Nevada.”

Reid made the case that health legislation would provide insurance to those who don’t have coverage, make insurance more affordable for those who do and help small businesses with the rising premium costs.

“After six decades of waiting and six to eight decades of suffering, in just a matter of weeks health insurance reform will become law,” Reid told more than 500 attendees in the school’s Judy Bayley Theatre. “Truman, John Kennedy, Nixon, Clinton all tried. We’re going to get it done this time.”

He added: “Its about making health care in America a right and not a privilege.”

Both House and Senate versions of the bill would prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions and engaging in other unpopular practices, while mandating that all Americans buy policies — with subsidies to help low- and middle-income families afford it.

The Senate bill shepherded by Reid would raise taxes on the wealthy, tax the most generous health insurance plans and provide for penalties for those who fail to purchase policies.

Both bills seek to curtail the growth of health care spending, which, left unimpeded, will eventually bankrupt Medicare, the government insurance program for Americans 65 and older.

Reid’s top Republican 2010 challengers, former Nevada Republican Party chairwoman Sue Lowden and attorney Danny Tarkanian, both attacked Reid.

“Harry Reid’s failed policies in Washington are bankrupting Nevada,” Lowden said in a statement. “Voters won’t forget this and will turn their back on Harry Reid come next November.”

The Tea Party Express also used the event to raise funds for an ad campaign against Reid that it hopes to launch in Nevada next week with press conferences in Reno and Las Vegas.

Gov. Jim Gibbons, meanwhile, promised to sue the federal government if the health care legislation becomes law.

“Senator Reid is treating the citizens of Nevada and other states unfairly,” Gibbons said in a press release Thursday evening. “His health care bill is not only ill-conceived, but I believe it is illegal.”

Facing low approval ratings and trailing in public opinion polls, Reid’s campaign is hammering home the idea that Reid’s position as Senate majority leader helps him deliver for his home state. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan Washington newsletter, has named Reid “the most vulnerable incumbent” in 2010.

Though antipathy to Reid runs strong, especially among Republicans, the reservations-only UNLV event, promoted through Reid’s campaign and the Nevada Democratic Party, also served to illustrate that the senator has a rabid base of support.

A few minutes into Reid’s speech, a man rose to interrupt him.

“I have to make a point,” the man said. He was immediately shouted down by the crowd, with one elderly supporter literally attempting to push him back into his seat.

The man was dragged from the room by security. (Party officials cited UNLV’s “no protest” policy. Demonstrations, they said, are limited to a “free speech” zone outside the venue.)

Outside, the event drew about a dozen protesters, half of whom were upset over this week's wild horse roundup in Northern Nevada by the Bureau of Land Management. The others were affiliated with the LaRouche Political Action Committee.

Reid largely stuck to Democratic talking points. He noted that 80 percent of the 750,000 people who filed for bankruptcy last year did so because of health care costs. Seventy percent of them had health insurance, he said.

“No other country in the world has people who file for bankruptcy because of health care costs,” Reid said. “I repeat that doing nothing is not an option.”

In one of the biggest applause lines of the night, Reid also boasted that the legislation would eliminate anti-trust exemptions that the insurance industry has enjoyed for decades. Insurers, he said, would be subject to criminal and civil penalties for fixing prices.

He reached out to seniors, saying that despite Republican claims and widespread ad campaigns, Medicare recipients would not see cuts to their benefits. The legislation would also close the so-called “donut hole” for prescription drugs, Reid said.

When someone shouted, “Who’s going to pay for it,” Reid cited the findings of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and boasted that the bill cuts the deficit by $132 billion over the next decade — and by as much as $1.3 trillion over the next 20 years.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are prepping to undertake negotiations to reconcile the two versions of the bill.

House leaders have expressed their disappointment that some key measures were dropped in the bill passed by the Senate last month, namely a public option, or government-run health insurance plan.

On Thursday, Reid, who presides over a 60-seat supermajority in the Senate, hinted that sacrifices would have to be made because 60 votes are needed to overcome Republican filibusters, a procedural roadblock to passing any legislation.

“We’re not going to let the perfect stand in the way of the good,” he said. “This bill trades a system of pay more and get less for pay less and get more.”