Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) said House Democrats are lining up behind a proposal that would allow an incremental approach to overhauling the healthcare system, using a series of bills instead of one big one to reform the insurance sector, guarantee patients' rights and change how care is delivered.
Under his plan, which was presented to Democrats during a closed-door meeting, three or four bills would be introduced in quick succession. By design, the legislation would involve more-popular and less-controversial components of the broader healthcare reform packages now stalled in Congress, he said.
Pascrell hinted that the measures would prove more amenable to some Republicans because they would strip provisions such as the public option, individual insurance mandates and newly created entitlement programs, which made Republicans and some Democrats nervous.
Democrats have been exploring ways to move ahead with an effort to overhaul the healthcare sector after momentum flatlined earlier this week, in part, by the loss of a Senate seat.
Earlier Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the
House could not pass the Senate's bill in its current form.
“You can blame the Senate all you want, but we are our own worst enemy,” Pascrell said. “We do everything in mega-fashion. We need to do it in mini-fashion.”
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who heard Pascrell's proposal, said, “It appealed to a lot of people.”
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