Alongside the Senates attempts at creating a comprehensive Health care bill which is led by Sen. Reid, there is a similar attempt going on in the House of Representatives lead by the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. On October 23, information regarding the House's bill was leaked. According to this information the price tag should be about $871billion. However, this price excludes such expenses as increased benefits for Medicare and Medicaid, the public option and many others. Therefore, the estimated full price should be more than $1 trillion in the next decade. This is well above the $900 billion limit set by president Obama and it is also questionable whether this plan would not add to the already enormous deficit. This bill holds many similarities to the one worked on in the Senate; it provides coverage to previously uninsured, banns denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, and should slow health care cost growth. The Bill also lifts the exemption the insurance companies previously enjoyed from the anti-trust laws. The House is, as the Senate, still struggling with the issue of public option which some Democrats require and some more conservative Democrats and Republicans refuse. One alternative to this deadlock came from Sen. Snowe, who previously supported the Financial Committee's proposal. She proposed that the government would put up some goals the private insurance companies would have to fulfill and the government would step in only if they failed to do so.
by Lucie S.
Source: Yahoo News/AP October 23, 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment