Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 11, 1994 TAG: 9408110078
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The endorsement from the board of directors of the 33-million-member AARP came as major business groups, small and large, sought to form a united front to fight Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell's bill.
President Clinton complained about ``this kill it, kill it ... drumbeat'' and an ``almost hysterical fear'' that small businesses have stirred against universal health coverage.
``It's not too late to rescue that. That's why we have a debate,'' the president said at a White House event to trumpet Hawaii's 20-year-old requirement that employers buy health insurance for their workers.
Another major interest group, the American Medical Association, threw its support behind a stripped-down bill put together by 10 Republicans and Democrats in the House.
The second day of debate in the Senate started acrimoniously as Republicans complained about ``midnight'' changes in both Mitchell's bill and the House version.
Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., riffling through the thick Mitchell bill, said, ``We've got a bill we've never seen. ... It is an absolutely insane, inane, unfair process.''
Mitchell defended his plan and said the Republicans for weeks had nothing but ``a phantom bill. ... No one will be rushed. We'll stay here as long as it takes, days and weeks, months if necessary.''
There is no bigger issue in the battle than whether employers should be pay at least part of the cost of their workers' insurance. Mitchell's bill first aims to get 95 percent of Americans covered by 2000 with voluntary measures and subsidies, adding the employer mandate only if those efforts are unsuccessful.
The AARP's directors urged their membership to support both the Mitchell bill and House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt's version.
by CNB