The White House has unveiled President Obama's proposals for a health care compromise between the House and Senate legislation. You can read the plan here. It doesn't change much from what the Democrats were already working with, but here are what the White House dubs its "key changes":
• Eliminating the Nebraska FMAP provision and providing significant additional Federal financing to all States for the expansion of Medicaid; • Closing the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole” coverage gap; • Strengthening the Senate bill’s provisions that make insurance affordable for individuals and families; • Strengthening the provisions to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid; • Increasing the threshold for the excise tax on the most expensive health plans from $23,000 for a family plan to $27,500 and starting it in 2018 for all plans; • Improving insurance protections for consumers and creating a new Health Insurance Rate Authority to provide Federal assistance and oversight to States in conducting reviews of unreasonable rate increases and other unfair practices of insurance plans.
So, Obama took a deeply unpopular plan and got rid of Ben Nelson's backroom deal. Is that going to make much difference? His proposal doesn't specify that it will get rid of other deals like, Bill Nelson's kickback for Florida seniors on Medicare Advantage.