The New York Times leads this morning with word that General Motors– which is busily restructuring itself to “justify its use of a $13.4 billion loan package from the federal government” — is pushing the United Auto Workers (UAW) to accept serious concessions on retiree health care benefits:

G.M. has the most at stake with the U.A.W. Its future obligations for retiree health care are estimated at $47 billion, and by next year it is required by its contract to contribute more than $10 billion to the trust set up in 2007.

The company, which nearly ran out of money before receiving the first $9.4 billion of its $13.4 billion in late December, is pressing the U.A.W. to accept stock for as much as 50 percent of its next contribution to the trust, according to two people knowledgeable about the discussions.

Recall that in 2007, GM struck a deal with the union to remove $51 billion of retiree health obligations from its balance sheet by contributing to a new trust fund for retiree health benefits. In return, the union got “to set and manage the health-insurance benefits.” Now, the company seems to be balking its commitment, pressing auto workers “to accept stock for as much as half of its next contribution to the trust.” On Saturday, the UAW called proposals to modify a union-run health care fund “a non-starter.”

Indeed, GM’s so-called compromise jeopardizes the future of the trust and may force the labor union to shoulder more of the cost or cut back on health benefits. As Phyllis Borzi, a research professor in health policy at the George Washington University pointed out in 2007, “the nature of GM’s contributions is almost as important as the size.” As an employee, “I would want cold hard cash — I don’t want any employer stock or any of that stuff in there,” Borzi said.

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The final stimulus package, which the President is scheduled to sign later this afternoon, includes a fair number of health provisions. Yet it’s not a total victory for progressive health advocates. In the run-up to the passage last week of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, negotiators compromised on some key health components:

For instance, while the final compromise includes $87 billion in additional Medicaid funds to states over 27 months, a 65% subsidy to cover COBRA premiums for nine months, $19 billion for health information technology, $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research and $1 billion for prevention and wellness, negotiators considered Republican objections and stripped provisions that would have allowed workers “to stay on Cobra until they qualified for Medicare” or enroll in Medicaid if they can’t afford COBRA premiums “even with the new subsidies”.

Despite these concessions (and many others), only three Republicans voted for the stimulus bill. The rest stonewalled action to help the economy recover, even as millions of Americans were losing their jobs and health insurance. In fact, according to a forthcoming analysis by James Kvaal and Ben Furnas, as the unemployment rate grew by 0.8 points in December and January, nearly 100,000 people a week or 14,000 people a day lost their health coverage:

Obama reminded lawmakers, “This is not a game…These are your constituents. These are families you know and you care about.” Yet Republicans ignored those suffering from the burden of growing health care costs and limited access, and took their marching orders from conservative pundits who urged lawmakers to unite against the bill.

The ranks of the uninsured will grow as the recession persists, in spite of conservative obstructionism. As Jacob Hacker points out, the stimulus “won’t provide the cure. What we need is a new New Deal.”

Indeed, the reality of 14,000 Americans losing their health coverage daily suggests that the stimulus is no substitute for health reform. Congress must now turn the page to reforming the health care system, dragging conservatives kicking and screaming across the finish line.