One senator’s deal is another’s bribery

The Washington Post story in the Review-Journal Sunday reported that Sen. Harry Reid had netted the 60 votes needed to move forward on health care reform. The last holdout was Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

To sway the reluctant senator, the Post said, “Nelson also 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.”

Sound familiar? That is the similar to the deal Reid temporarily cut for Nevada and three other states back in September. At the time, even Democratic Senators balked.

“Under Mr. Baucus’s original proposal,” The New York Times reported then, “the federal government would have paid 87 percent of the new costs in Nevada. Under the modified version, the federal government would pay 100 percent of the new costs for the first five years.”

The Review-Journal quoted a Reid statement at the time,  "I promised the people of Nevada that I wouldn't support any health insurance reform proposal that wasn't good for our state, and I meant it."

Some senators balked then at the favoritism. Will they again? Or has the deal been struck?

Oh, and is that state requirement to pick up the tab for Medicaid counted by the CBO in its deficit projections?