Senator Ben Nelson Sells Out On Abortion Funding And Says He Will Vote For Cloture And For The Senate Health Care Bill

The Washington Post reports that in exchange for his support Senator Nelson "secured full and permanent federal funding for his state to extend Medicaid eligibility to everyone below 133 percent of the federal poverty level. The bill would require all states to do so, but Nebraska alone would not be required to pay a portion of the additional cost after 2016. Nelson also won concessions for qualifying nonprofit insurers and for providers of supplemental Medicare coverage from a new insurance tax, and he was able to roll back cuts to health savings accounts."

Politico reports that a the key fellow pro-life Democrat in the House of Representatives strongly opposes Senator Nelson's signing on to the bill. An aide to pro-life Democrat "Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) coordinated opposition to the Senate health bill’s abortion compromise this morning with the Republican Senate leadership, according to a chain of frantic emails obtained this morning by POLITICO. Stupak, in an interview with POLITICO, called the Senate bill’s abortion position 'unacceptable.'"

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