Under the House health insurance reform bill, those who can afford to buy insurance and don’t will pay a fine. If the refuse to pay the fine there's a threat of jail time. Despite this, today, appearing on ABC News with Jake Tapper, President Barack Obama stopped short of endorsing that threat.
It should be noted that in the Senate Finance Committee version of health insurance reform, they have already removed the provision for jail time. Tapper asked Barack Obama about the appropriateness of such a provision.
To that, the President responded that it's appropriate to fine those who refuse to buy into health insurance, to put penalties in place for those who try to get a "free ride." When pressed on the question of jail time, he sidestepped the issue.
However, the President was quite clear about his opinion on the health insurance reform bill and abortions. As he said, "... this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill. And we're not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions.
And I want to make sure that the provision that emerges meets that test -- that we are not in some way sneaking in funding for abortions, but, on the other hand, that we're not restricting women's insurance choices, because one of the pledges I made in that same speech was to say that if you're happy and satisfied with the insurance that you have, that it's not going to change. "
In effect, with regards to abortion rights, although the House passed an amendment restricting federal subsidies on insurance plans that provide for abortions, the key is to maintain the status quo. Nothing will change with respect to the way that federal funding is used with regards to abortions.
Even given that, there is a firefight expected in the Senate, where the threat of filibuster looms large. Sen. Harry Reid has also warned recently that the Senate may not pass a bill before the end of 2009, as it hoped.
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