July 10, 2009 [Washington, DC] -- When the going gets tough....

Attempts by House Democrats to release a complete heathcare reform bill by today fell apart last night when fifty-one moderate Democrats - the so-called Blue Dogs - broke ranks and refused to consider revenue raisers, such as an income tax surcharge on the wealthy, until more savings are wrung out of the system.

Meanwhile on the Senate side, a key negotiator, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-
UT) suggested scrapping everything and starting all over - but on a much less ambitious scale than reforming the whole system and covering the 46 million uninsured.

With estimates for full insurance coverage running a trillion dollars or more over the next ten years, and with the White House demanding a bill that is "revenue neutral," every new proposal to cover those costs reduces support for a comprehensive bill.

About a third of the needed revenues would have come from taxing the health insurance benefits of all employees - a proposal dropped earlier this week following strong opposition from members in key political states and unions.

That leaves a $320 billion hole and one member of the Senate Finance Committee said they were focusing on how to better manage the health care of patients with chronic diseases, such a cancer, since they are some of the most expensive in the system.

But the draft plans in both House and Senate already call for large cuts in imaging, hospice, acute care and home health care, to mention a few areas, with little detail on how they will be achieved.

For more information about Comprehensive Health Care Reform, click here.