Healthcare Reform Update:
Republican Win in Massachusetts Senate Election Deals Serious Blow to Healthcare Reform Bill

Republican Scott Brown won the special election for former Senator Ted Kennedy’s seat in Massachusetts yesterday by a comfortable margin. Brown’s win was the first Republican Senate win in Massachusetts since the 1970s.

Brown campaigned as the “41st vote” against the Healthcare Reform bill, and the loss of the Democrat’s 60-vote supermajority in support of the current bill means it is extremely unlikely that any revised version of the legislation can pass the Senate.

While this could mean the end of Healthcare Reform in 2010, the Democratic leadership does have several options to continue to move forward with the current legislation:

1. Adjust the current legislation to draw Republican votes. The current legislation has proven highly unpopular among Republicans, but some Republican senators, including moderate Olympia Snowe (R-ME), were heavily involved in earlier negotiations and have expressed support for healthcare reform in concept. This option will require substantial delays for the legislation and major structural changes to the bill.
    

2. Pass the Senate bill in the House of Representatives. If the House were to pass the Senate bill without changes, the measure would not need to go back through the Senate for confirmation. This is unlikely as the Senate bill contains several provisions unpopular in the House, and increasingly members of Congress in both Houses have said the recent political defeats send the message that they need to reconsider their approach.
    

3. Rush the current bill through Congress before Scott Brown is seated. This is also unlikely as several members of Congress on both sides have indicated this strategy would constitute a breach of public trust.

Congress may also either drop healthcare legislation in 2010 altogether or throw the current bill out and start over in the hope of drafting a more popular, bipartisan approach.

ArlenGroup will continue to actively monitor federal developments and adapt our Healthcare Reform compliance tools and resources to support the direction of any future legislation.

Please contact your ArlenGroup consulting team for more information.