Rangel: Compromise Bill in Works

Democrats have started writing a compromise health-care bill in an effort to salvage the reform legislation, Democratic Representative Charles Rangel of New York said Tuesday, but it’s unclear when it would be ready to be voted on. The measure would convert the Senate bill into a version the House and Senate agreed upon before Scott Brown’s election threw a wrench into the negotiations. If true, Rangel’s remarks are the first concrete sign that Democrats have not given up on passing some sort of health-care legislation. Compromises include a Senate-approved tax on expensive “Cadillac” insurance plans, and the removal of a measure to fully pay for the expansion of Medicaid in Nebraska, which was inserted to win the vote of Democratic Senator Ben Nelson, who was the 60th vote for the bill. Rangel said he wasn’t sure whether the compromise would be tackled before a jobs bill.