Democrats, who were in the process of combining previously passed House and Senate healthcare bills at the time of the election of Republican Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate race, have been struggling since then to come up with a new legislative strategy. The election of Brown means Democrats no longer have a 60 vote filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Meanwhile, Republicans remain unanimously opposed to the Democratic health care bills.

Democratic lawmakers may now focus on health insurance reform, rather than attempt to quickly pass a more comprehensive healthcare package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the House might pursue a two-stage approach where the chamber would vote on specific healthcare provisions in the coming weeks while examining ways to pass a wider overhaul in the future.

One scenario being discussed: Democrats could use a “pairing” strategy to make major changes to the Senate healthcare bill passed in December, in order to get sufficient votes for it to pass in the House. The Senate could pass another bill containing amendments to the bill that the Senate already passed and sent to the House in December. Then, the House could pass both bills in tandem and send them to President Obama for his signature. The Democrats have not yet adopted this strategy, however, because they are not sure it would work.

February 2, 2010