The association health plan bill, sponsored by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY), stands little chance of being passed after a vote in the Senate failed to reach the approval of 60 senators needed to move it forward, reports the Los Angeles Times. The legislation, which would have allowed small businesses to collectively purchase health insurance for their employees at lower premiums, was opposed by groups such as the AARP, the American Cancer Society, state attorneys general, and medical societies for bypassing state laws requiring specific coverage for certain diseases and for prevention. The Times attributes the impasse to “election-year mistrust between the political parties.” Robert J. Blendon, a public opinion expert at the Harvard School of Public Health, told the Times, "The partisan nature of Washington politics has just gotten so extreme that you have a sense people don't want to move on a problem unless it's done completely on the terms of their own party." Although Enzi said he would reintroduce his bill later this year with concessions to Democrats, observers are not hopeful the bill will be revived. (Access the Los Angeles Times story.)
