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US Senate healthcare bill hits Obama cost target
Source: Agencies |
November 19, 2009, Thursday
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US Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid released a healthcare reform plan yesterday that budget analysts said would extend coverage to tens of millions of the uninsured and reduce the budget deficit over 10 years.
After weeks of closed-door talks to merge two Senate bills, Reid told Democrats the Congressional Budget Office pegged the plan's 10-year cost at US$849 billion -- below President Barack Obama's US$900 billion goal for his top domestic priority.
The CBO analysis also said the plan would reduce the deficit by US$127 billion over 10 years and US$650 billion in the second decade while extending coverage to 31 million more Americans, Democrats said, a rosy report card that could boost the bill's prospects in a sharply divided Senate.
The 2,074-page bill was applauded by Obama, who called it "another critical milestone" in the push for healthcare reform, and condemned by Republicans who said it was another costly government intrusion in the private healthcare sector.
The bill's publication clears the way for a Senate vote on Friday or Saturday on whether to begin debate -- the first key procedural hurdle for the Senate plan.
The Senate bill is considerably smaller than the more than US$1 trillion healthcare measure passed earlier this month in the House of Representatives. That bill would have covered at least 5 million more uninsured.
If the Senate passes a bill, any differences with the version passed by the House would have to be reconciled before the final versions can be voted on again in both houses. If the final bill passes, it would be sent to Obama for his signature.
"I look forward to working with the Senate and House to get a finished bill to my desk as soon as possible," Obama said in a statement.
PUBLIC OPTION INCLUDED
The Senate bill includes a government-run insurance option that lets states choose whether to participate, and would halt practices like denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions.
"For too long, health insurance companies have put profits before patients. This is the moment to change that," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said.
Reid's bill also would raise Medicare payroll taxes for the wealthiest Americans to help pay for it, and includes a tax on high-cost "Cadillac" insurance plans, Democratic senators briefed by Reid said.
The bill does not include language approved earlier this month by the House of Representatives that would strengthen the existing prohibition on using federal funds for abortion, senators said.
The healthcare overhaul has been stalled in the Senate as Reid waited for the CBO estimates and searched for a way to win the 60 votes needed to clear Republican procedural hurdles.
Reid has said he was "cautiously optimistic" he can win the 60 votes needed to begin the debate, but Democrats have no margin for error -- they control exactly 60 seats in the 100-member Senate and Republicans so far are united in opposition.
A handful of centrist Democrats have rebelled at Reid's decision to include a government-run public insurance program in the bill, but Reid has been working to corral their support at least to start debate.
"When it comes time to vote, no one in our caucus is going to be the one or two who is going to sink this bill. It's just not going to happen," Democratic Senator Tom Harkin said.
Senator Ben Nelson, one of the uncommitted Democrats, said he would need to see the bill before making a final decision on whether to support the motion to open debate.
Obama has made reform of the US$2.5 trillion healthcare industry, which constitutes one-sixth of the economy, his top domestic priority and would like to sign it into law this year to try to keep it from becoming in embroiled next year's congressional elections.
If the Senate takes up the bill, the debate is expected to begin on Nov. 30, after the US Thanksgiving holiday next week, and last for at least three weeks. Senior Democratic senators have said it is unlikely Obama will have a completed bill on his desk by the end of the year.
After weeks of closed-door talks to merge two Senate bills, Reid told Democrats the Congressional Budget Office pegged the plan's 10-year cost at US$849 billion -- below President Barack Obama's US$900 billion goal for his top domestic priority.
The CBO analysis also said the plan would reduce the deficit by US$127 billion over 10 years and US$650 billion in the second decade while extending coverage to 31 million more Americans, Democrats said, a rosy report card that could boost the bill's prospects in a sharply divided Senate.
The 2,074-page bill was applauded by Obama, who called it "another critical milestone" in the push for healthcare reform, and condemned by Republicans who said it was another costly government intrusion in the private healthcare sector.
The bill's publication clears the way for a Senate vote on Friday or Saturday on whether to begin debate -- the first key procedural hurdle for the Senate plan.
The Senate bill is considerably smaller than the more than US$1 trillion healthcare measure passed earlier this month in the House of Representatives. That bill would have covered at least 5 million more uninsured.
If the Senate passes a bill, any differences with the version passed by the House would have to be reconciled before the final versions can be voted on again in both houses. If the final bill passes, it would be sent to Obama for his signature.
"I look forward to working with the Senate and House to get a finished bill to my desk as soon as possible," Obama said in a statement.
PUBLIC OPTION INCLUDED
The Senate bill includes a government-run insurance option that lets states choose whether to participate, and would halt practices like denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions.
"For too long, health insurance companies have put profits before patients. This is the moment to change that," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said.
Reid's bill also would raise Medicare payroll taxes for the wealthiest Americans to help pay for it, and includes a tax on high-cost "Cadillac" insurance plans, Democratic senators briefed by Reid said.
The bill does not include language approved earlier this month by the House of Representatives that would strengthen the existing prohibition on using federal funds for abortion, senators said.
The healthcare overhaul has been stalled in the Senate as Reid waited for the CBO estimates and searched for a way to win the 60 votes needed to clear Republican procedural hurdles.
Reid has said he was "cautiously optimistic" he can win the 60 votes needed to begin the debate, but Democrats have no margin for error -- they control exactly 60 seats in the 100-member Senate and Republicans so far are united in opposition.
A handful of centrist Democrats have rebelled at Reid's decision to include a government-run public insurance program in the bill, but Reid has been working to corral their support at least to start debate.
"When it comes time to vote, no one in our caucus is going to be the one or two who is going to sink this bill. It's just not going to happen," Democratic Senator Tom Harkin said.
Senator Ben Nelson, one of the uncommitted Democrats, said he would need to see the bill before making a final decision on whether to support the motion to open debate.
Obama has made reform of the US$2.5 trillion healthcare industry, which constitutes one-sixth of the economy, his top domestic priority and would like to sign it into law this year to try to keep it from becoming in embroiled next year's congressional elections.
If the Senate takes up the bill, the debate is expected to begin on Nov. 30, after the US Thanksgiving holiday next week, and last for at least three weeks. Senior Democratic senators have said it is unlikely Obama will have a completed bill on his desk by the end of the year.
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