GOP's Grassley Key to Senate Hopes for a Bipartisan Deal on Health Care

By GREG HITT

WSJ

WASHINGTON -- Democrats now have a supermajority in the Senate. But their top priority, a health-care overhaul, may well need the blessing of a veteran Republican, Iowa's Chuck Grassley, if it has any hope of becoming law.

The senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee has used his close ties with committee Chairman Max Baucus to play a big role in shaping legislation. So far, most of that role has been to delay. Mr. Baucus, a Montana Democrat, had hoped to have a draft bill by the end of last week. He came under pressure at the White House Monday to step up the pace. But the timetable for reaching compromise is up in the air, with a deal likely no sooner than late this week or early next.

Key Democrats are seeking the Republican's sign-off on which taxes might be raised to pay for covering the uninsured. In closed-door negotiations, a bipartisan group that includes Mr. Grassley is pondering proposed levies on pharmaceutical companies and insurers, as well as an income surtax on wealthy individuals, which is part of a House Democratic bill set to be unveiled this week. Mr. Grassley isn't fond of the idea. "When is enough enough?" he asks in an interview.

Because the Iowan opposes creating a government plan to compete with private insurers, Democrats are running by him compromise approaches to expanding coverage. He is open to the creation of a nonprofit cooperative that would compete with private insurers. But he doesn't like an approach gaining support in the Senate's majority party that would seed the nonprofit with taxpayer money and make the government bear the ultimate risk, if losses occur. "It's a health-care Fannie Mae," Mr. Grassley says.

The White House and top Democrats think a bipartisan bill would give the public added confidence in the legislation, which partly explains Mr. Grassley's clout. "It's more durable...more lasting," Mr. Baucus says of legislation that attracts bipartisan support. As a practical matter, a bill with GOP backing would give Democrats leverage to overcome certain delaying tactics.

(More here.)