VOA标准英语2009年-US House, Senate Health Care Bills Con

Photo: AP
Senate Majority Leader Harry¹ Reid left, listens as Sen. Charles Schumer speaks during press conference on Capitol Hill, 24 Dec 2009

 
When lawmakers in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives return to work in January, they will face the task of working out differences between major health care reform legislation.  Informal talks were expected to get underway even earlier, and President Barack Obama has pledged to remain fully² engaged in the process of achieving his major domestic priority. 

Legislation the Senate passed and the version the House of Representatives approved earlier have both been estimated by the independent Congressional Budget Office to cost in the upper $800 billion range.

Democrats⁴ and Republicans continue to argue what the true longer-term costs will be, with 10-year costs of the House measure put at more than $1 trillion.

Lawmakers who will negotiate the differences for the Senate and House will have to ensure that a final bill is below the $900 billion the president set as a maximum figure.

Senate Democrats were forced to make concessions⁵ to some of their members and to Independents, the most significant being the elimination⁶ of a government-run insurance option to compete with private companies whose practices have been the focus of sharp criticism for decades.

Both bills seek to make health-insurance coverage⁷ accessible to between 94 and 96 percent of Americans, compared to the current 83 percent - adding about 30 million people.  Most Americans would be required to obtain some form of insurance or face financial penalties.

Both would also use tax increases on higher-earning Americans, various other taxes, and reductions in payments to medical-care providers under the government Medicare and Medicaid programs to pay the costs of expanded insurance.

While the House bill would immediately bar private insurance companies from denying coverage or raising insurance premiums⁸ based on age or gender⁹, the Senate would wait until 2014 for this to take effect, except for children who would be covered immediately.  There would be no lifetime limits on coverage beginning immediately upon President Obama signing legislation.

Under the House bill, the prohibition¹⁰ on denying coverage would begin one year earlier in 2013, with similar prohibitions¹¹ on higher premiums based on pre-existing conditions or gender.

Of course, the biggest difference between the two bills, and one likely to cause the most friction¹² in House-Senate negotiations¹³, involves the so-called "public option" or competing insurance the government would offer.

Using new public exchanges or marketplaces, a feature found in both bills, House lawmakers included such a government option in their bill, with rates to be negotiated by the government.

In the face of opposition¹⁴ from Independent Senator Joe Lieberman, and to gain his vote, Senate lawmakers first dropped the government insurance option and then an alternative plan to decrease the eligibility¹⁵ age for the existing government Medicare program.

The Senate measure relies on the new exchanges with emphasis on U.S. states retaining flexibility¹⁶, to expand coverage to self-employed Americans, to small businesses and others currently without insurance.

In the year-long battle over reform, President Obama stressed the importance of billions of dollars in longer-term savings¹⁷ from reducing waste in the current health care system. 

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Senate and House bills would save $132 billion and $138 billion respectively.

Republicans who opposed both bills assert that President Obama and Democrats manipulated savings projections¹⁸ to conceal¹⁹ the true cost of reforms, while Democrats defended their figures.

"At the same time [the bill] cuts costs, the waste, the fraud, the duplication, endemic to our system and at the same time it covers 31 million people.  Who would have thought we could do both in the same bill?," said New York Democrat³ Charles Schumer.

"The idea that the bill is going to create a situation to reduce debt is just not true," said Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions.

On new taxes, House lawmakers have proposed a 5.4 percent surtax on individuals earning more than $500,000 per year and families with incomes exceeding $1 million, along with with new fees for insurance companies, drug-makers, medical device manufacturers.

But there is pressure on the House to accept Senate provisions that would increase Medicare payroll²⁰ taxes for individuals earning more than $200,000 annually²¹, and families earning more than $250,000, with other taxes on so-called high-value insurance plans.

Both measures expand coverage under Medicaid, the existing government program servicing low income Americans, between 133 and 150 percent of the government's official poverty level, for the Senate and House plans respectively.

House-Senate negotiations will also focus on other issues, including provisions regarding abortion²² services, and those involving participation²³ for illegal immigrants.

In advance of formal talks, Democratic leaders are stressing the need to come up with a consensus²⁴ that can deliver health care security and quality while controlling short and longer-term costs.

Republicans have made clear they will continue to underscore what they call the long-term deficit²⁵ and debt risks for the economy of the legislation President Obama hopes to be able to sign not too far into the new year.
 

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

6 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

7 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

8 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

10 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

11 prohibitions   

禁令，禁律( prohibition的名词复数 )； 禁酒； 禁例

参考例句：

• Nowadays NO PARKING is the most ubiquitous of prohibitions. 今天，“NO PARKING”（禁止停车），几乎成了到处可见的禁止用语了。
• Inappropriate, excessive or capricious administration of aversive stimulation has led to scandals, lawsuits and prohibitions. 不恰当的、过度的或随意滥用厌恶性刺激会引起人们的反感、控告与抵制。

12 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

13 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

15 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

16 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

17 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

18 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

19 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

20 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

21 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

22 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

23 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

24 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

25 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。