What's next for Health Reform and Senate Following landmark House vote Saturday Night?

Most insiders have projected that the more moderate Senate would ultimately lead the way for final legislation on health care reform. However now with the Senate's landmark vote this weekend with a health reform bill that includes a public option the next steps on the Senate side are not clear. Pressure is mounting for the Senate to complete a vote before the Christmas deadline but the Senate side have not embraced the public health insurance option that Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has seemed to suddenly be supporting despite the fact that he does not have 60 votes needed for health reform including a true public option.

The Senate debate over health care now seems to have come to a dead stop, raising the possibility the Senate won’t even begin floor debate until after Thanksgiving. Timing is not the only issue as Reid must find a way to bridge the divide in the Democratic party between liberals pushing for a public option and moderates who have resisted the most ambitious version of that plan.

According to an article published in Politico, in a private meeting last week with Finance Committee Chairman Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) and moderate Democrats aired a long list of concerns about the House bill compared to the Senate Finance Committee approach including: the $1.2 trillion price tag on the House bill, its reliance on a “millionaires tax” to fund the overhaul and the lack of common ground between the House and Senate on other taxes, among other issues.

The House vote now puts more pressure on the Senate to bend which could make a more moderate, bipartisan approach to health reform a greater challenge.