Well, one chamber has now passed a bill. It’ll get reworked considerably I imagine before it comes back to the House. The Senate bill, after all, is widely divergent in many areas from the House bill, which is why we have Conference Committees.

But here are some things we’re thinking about this week and what we’ll be working on in the aftermath of the House vote.

- What was Brian Baird’s rationale for voting against this bill? Not just what he says in the press statement, but what are the real politics at play there?

- What are the practical economic impacts of the Stupak amendment limiting coverage of abortions? There are some persuasive politics at play, but will this have a measurable “real world” impact on plans, providers or patients?

- What will it take to get the Senate to bring their bill to the floor?

- What are the consequences of Lieberman standing athwart this effort to his future with the Senate Dems?

- Perhaps the most intriguing thing we’re thinking about: what are the impacts of this reform package on Washington State’s efforts at reform? This sets the stage for a real effort at reform in 2011. What will this mean for that?

When the dust settles from reform at the end of the day, I have the sneaking suspicion we will have just as many questions then as there are today. More from us as our brains wake up to the week.

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