Today the Senate Finally Began Votes on Amendments to Health Reform

Today, following three days of debates without a vote on a single amendment, the Senate has begun to vote on amendments to the health reform bill.

The first two votes were on two amendments related to women's health. The first, offered by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) would give the Health and Human Services secretary authority to authorize the services, with the aim of ensuring that women over 40 receive mammograms and other treatments. This amendment passed with a vote of 61-39, with Republican Senators Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and David Vitter voting for the amendment and Democratic Senators Ben Nelson and Russ Fiengold voting against it. An alternative amendment submitted by Republican Lisa Murkowski was defeated 41-59, with Sen. Ben Nelson voting with the Republicans.

McCain's motion to remove the Medicare cuts from the bill failed 42-58 but two democrats, Nelson and Webb, voted for it. Senior groups, including AARP, opposed the McCain amendment and argued that the cuts in Medicare were cuts to reduce waste and not cuts in benefits. Senator Michael Bennet's amendment requiring that nothing in the Patient Protection and Affordability Act will result in a reduction of guaranteed Medicare benefits passed 100-0.

With momentum finally building in the Senate debate it still remains unclear where we will end up on the public option and there were reports today that another proposal is expected to be revealed next week that would provide more of a compromise that the "opt-out" language currently in the Senate health reform bill. Thus far there is no variation of a public option that has attracted the support of 60 Senators.

Prediction of the day: Despite progress today, it remains difficult to imagine how the Senate will be able to pass health reform legislation before the the holidays. Possible but challenging especially given wild card issues such as abortion and the public option.