For Many House Democrats, Cost Is the Concern

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
NYT

Everybody paid attention when President Obama, in a speech at the White House on Wednesday, said “now is the time to make a decision” and “the United States Congress owes the American people a final vote on health care reform.”

But perhaps the most overlooked section of his speech was his insistence that the Democratic bill will take sufficient steps to control the rise in health care costs for individuals, families and the federal government.

“We have now incorporated most of the serious ideas from across the political spectrum about how to contain the rising cost of health care — ideas that go after the waste and abuse in our system, especially in programs like Medicare,” the president said. “But we do this while protecting Medicare benefits and extending the financial stability of the program by nearly a decade.”

Whether the legislation will tamp down rising health care expenditures is controversial; even experts who support the Democratic legislation say it could do more to control costs. Nonetheless, the president’s remarks sent a clear message to a crucial group of Congressional Democrats who voted against the health care legislation citing cost concerns: the White House and Congressional leaders will not be taking any big new steps to win them over.

(More here.)