What Changed Nelson's Mind?

by Patrick Appel

David Kurtz on the monetary angle (Wonk Room has more):

For my money, increased federal Medicaid subsidies for a particular state ranks pretty low along the spectrum of pork barrel politics. Is it good policy to single out one state for special treatment? Probably not. Does it amount to the sort of sleazy special interest politics that awards fat federal contracts to major campaign contributors? Hardly. For those who would equate the two, what planet do you live on?

Cohn points to commentary on the abortion compromise:

The Hill's Jeffrey Young and Wonk Room's Igor Volsky have more details on the final compromise with Nelson and other features in the manager's amendment. The gist of the abortion amendment is that it'd give states the right to prohibit coverage of abortion within their own insurance exchanges, which is what the Stupak amendment in the House bill would do nationally. Also of note: Ron Wyden did a get a scaled-down version of his Free Choice amendment.