WASHINGTON — While health care reform negotiations continued behind the scenes Sunday, the Senate rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., to limit the tax deductions insurance companies take for what they pay their top executives. The vote was 56-42 on a measure that needed 60 votes.
Lawmakers also voted down a measure by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., to limit plaintiff lawyers’ fees in medical malpractice cases, a politically fraught issue that pits Republicans against Democrats. Ensign would have limited the lawyers to one-third of the first $150,000, and one-fourth of additional amounts above that. Democrats said the amendment was one-sided because it would not limit fees for defense lawyers in malpractice cases. That vote was 32-66. The Associated Press
