The Health Care Battle Is In The House

And it's Bart Stupak and the most rabid of his Blue Dogs that stand between the Dems and victory on health care reform.  Stupak is warning that Pelosi has already lost as many as 12 votes because the Senate version didn't adopt Stupak's language on abortion in health care reform, and right now that means this bill will not pass.

Stupak, the sponsor of an amendment to the House healthcare bill that barred federal subsidies for health plans covering abortion, said that 12 lawmakers who had previously supported healthcare reform legislation in the House would be ready to switch.

"It's accurate to say there are at least 12 of us who voted for healthcare that have indicated to the speaker and others that unless you change this language, we will vote against it," Stupak said during an appearance on MSNBC.

Stupak and other Democrats who oppose abortion have threatened to fell the healthcare effort before Congress over the issue of abortion. They say the Senate's provision, which had been demanded by centrist Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), does not go far enough in preventing federal money from going to support abortion.

So, what's Stupak's price?   Any changes would have to come afterward in Senate reconciliation.  That could be Stupak's demand, to have his language inserted into reconciliation that would effectively eliminate insurance plans that would cover abortion, making them so expensive that very few women could afford them.  They would not be eligible for a dime in subsidies, pricing them out of the range of most people.

Stupak is not backing down, either.  Something has to give here, and soon.