Nelson votes to advance health bill

WASHINGTON - Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., today voted in favor of moving the Senate health care bill forward. It was the latest in a series of votes that is expected to end with the bill's final passage on Christmas Eve.

Nelson said that three other senators approached him on the Senate floor during the vote and said they'll be seeking the same Medicaid deal that Nebraska received.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said on his way into the vote that each state will be asking for the same deal.

"They're going to be on every congressman and every senator here to make sure that other states are held harmless, too," Harkin said. "Ben, I think, may have actually done all of the states a big favor and he doesn't even know it,"

Nelson has said each state should seek the same deal Nebraska received and will likely get it. Covering the full cost of the Medicaid expansion would be expensive for the federal government.

But both Harkin and Nelson said the money will be spent regardless -- it's just a question of who's footing the bill.

"It's going to be expensive one way or the other and I don't think it's fair to put it on the shoulders of the states and bust their budgets," Nelson said.

Nelson has exchanged a flurry of letters with Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman over the Medicaid deal.

Why not just ring the governor on the phone and work out their differences?

Nelson suggested Heineman should be calling him.

"The phone rings from both ends," he said. "As a former governor, I guess I would have called - when I was governor I would have called the senator."

Heineman should not be worried that Nelson is too busy to take the call, Nelson said.

"The people from Florida get my telephone number thinking I'm (Florida Senator) Bill Nelson and they don't worry about me being busy at all," Nelson said.

Heineman said Monday that the Medicaid deal worth millions of dollars for Nebraska should be extended to all states or eliminated.

Nelson announced his support for the Senate bill only after striking an agreement that the federal government would cover the entire cost to Nebraska of the bill's Medicaid expansion.

Vermont and Massachusetts also are set to receive extra Medicaid assistance.

Nelson defended the arrangement for Nebraska, citing state budget concerns raised by Heineman, a Republican. Nelson's office described the deal as the "Heineman exemption."

But Heineman said that although he has concerns about unfunded federal mandates, he doesn't agree with a deal that singles out Nebraska for special treatment.

Nelson has said he's willing to eliminate Nebraska's exemption before the bill is signed into law, if that's what Heineman really wants.

In Omaha, meanwhile, a number of groups and individuals spoke in favor of the plan at a press conference this morning.

Participants included medical groups, church organizations, rural associations, senior citizen advocates and others.

"The cost of doing nothing is too great," said Connie Benjamin of the state chapter of the AARP. "We know it's not over and that is another reason for why we're here today."

Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., took to the Senate floor this morning and asked for unanimous consent to eliminate a list of special deals in the health care bill -- including Nebraska's Medicaid deal and tax and fee exemptions that will benefit "certain health insurance companies in Nebraska and Michigan."

Johanns also sought to cut out several deals that would benefit other states.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., objected to Johanns' request.

"I appreciate the senator's desire to . . . cut payments to his own state, but I object," Baucus said.

Contact the writer:

202-662-7270, joe.morton@owh.com

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