Nelson: health bill needs changes

WASHINGTON - The health care legislation now up for debate in the Senate has serious problems, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said today on ABC's This Week.

“I would not let it get off the floor,” Nelson told host George Stephanopoulos. “That's the next round.”

Nelson delivered one of the key votes Saturday night to begin the debate, but he wants to see substantial changes in the bill. In particular, he opposes its creation of a new government insurance plan, or public option.

Stephanopoulos pointed out the changes Nelson is seeking put him at odds with a majority of House Democrats, who already passed their own health care bill.

He asked another guest on the program, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., whether her colleagues would go along with Nelson's efforts.

“What . . . you don't hear him saying is that there isn't any room for negotiation,” she said.

Stephanopoulos cited Nelson's strong opposition to the public option, which prompted Nelson to jump in.

“We could negotiate a public option of some sort that I might look at, but I don't want a big-government, Washington-run operation that would undermine the . . . private insurance that 200 million Americans now have,” Nelson said.

Nelson said he would look at a public option where states could opt into the program.

“You can have state-based solutions in many instances, where the states can step forward and take care of certain responsibilities, with some assistance from the federal government,” he said.

Nelson both criticized and defended the bill. For example, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., described the bill as “malpractice” and said it would do nothing to control health care costs.

“It doesn't do enough to control the costs, that's for sure, and we do need to address that cost containment. I'm very concerned about that,” Nelson said. “But I certainly couldn't say it does nothing.”

Nelson cited provisions in the bill related to wellness, prevention and education incentives to increase the number of primary care physicians.

“Those will all be helpful in reducing the cost of health care,” Nelson said.

Nelson also said that he doesn't want medical treatment guidelines and recommendations resulting from the legislation to be taken as rules or laws.

“I worry about a government-run plan that would be subject to recommendations that might be applied universally, without respect to patients,” Nelson said.

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