House and Senate Democrats have been working hard the past few days to put together a final health care bill and unite their caucus. But many Democrats are still on the fence frustrated with the lack details on the contents of the final bill and its cost.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has not had time to estimate the comprehensive cost of this new bill, so it seems like most lawmakers are kind of in a holding pattern.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said the House will soon approve the Senate bill and the additional package of changes, reported The New York Times. But House Democrats were promised an estimate from the CBO before they voted, so it’s hard to gauge what will happen.
There’s another issue with the bill: abortion. Many Democrats are still not happy with the abortion language and have been threateningly to vote against it for weeks. Though, rumors are that these House members are bluffing.
Yet another controversial provision in the bill is a student loan program, which would give the government power to make loans to students instead of guaranteeing loans from private companies. This piece of the reform bill would likely add to the deficit and fuel opposition to its already massive cost.
The road blocks keep mounting every day for the Democrats and their health care and health insurance bill.