U.S. Senator Reid unveils health plan with broad coverage

After weeks of closed-door talks to combine two Senate measures, the publication of Reid's 2,074-page bill quickly set off what promises to be a lengthy and bitter debate over President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

“Tonight begins the last leg of this journey,” Reid told reporters after meeting privately with Senate Democrats.

Obama applauded the Senate legislation, calling it “another critical milestone” in the push for health care reform, but Republicans condemned it as a costly government intrusion in the private health care sector. The bill's publication clears the way for a Senate vote as soon as this weekend on whether to begin debate — the first key procedural hurdle for the Senate plan.

Democrats said the Congressional Budget Office pegged the plan's 10-year cost at US$849 billion — below Obama's US$900 billion goal. The CBO analysis said the plan would reduce the deficit by US$127 billion over 10 years and US$650 billion in the second decade and extend 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 actual analysis from the Congressional Budget Office had not been released by mid-evening on Wednesday. The Senate bill is less expensive than a more than US$1 trillion healthcare measure passed on Nov. 7 in the House of Representatives. That bill would have covered at least 5 million more uninsured.

Republicans criticized tax increases included in the bill to help pay for the expanded insurance coverage, including a new tax on elective cosmetic surgery they dubbed a “botox tax.” The bill would also raise the Medicare payroll tax on high-income workers, which is used to finance the government health program for the elderly, and impose a tax on high-cost “Cadillac” insurance plans.

Reid's version of the Cadillac tax is scaled back from the version in the Senate Finance Committee, which drew the ire of labor unions, a key Democratic constituency, which said it would affect middle-income workers.

'Not a Short Debate'

“This bill has been behind closed doors for weeks. Now, it's America's turn, and this will not be a short debate,” Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said. “Higher premiums, tax increases and Medicare cuts to pay for more government — the American people know that is not reform.”

If the Senate passes a bill, any differences with the House version would have to be reconciled before a final bill can be voted on again in both houses and sent to Obama to sign.

“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.

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