WASHINGTON – US Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has released a long-awaited healthcare reform plan that budget analysts say will extend coverage to tens of millions of the uninsured and reduce the deficit over 10 years.
After weeks of closed-door talks to combine two Senate measures, the publication of Mr Reid’s 2,074-page Bill 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,” Mr Reid told reporters after meeting privately with Senate Democrats.
Mr Obama applauded the Senate legislation, calling it “another critical milestone” in the push for healthcare reform, but Republicans condemned it as a costly government intrusion in the private healthcare 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 $849 billion – below Mr Obama’s $900 billion goal.
The CBO analysis said the plan would reduce the deficit by $127 billion over 10 years and $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 Senate Bill is less expensive than a $1 trillion-plus healthcare measure passed on November 7th in the House of Representatives. That Bill would have covered at least five million more uninsured.
Republicans criticised 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 programme for the elderly, and impose a tax on high-cost “Cadillac” insurance plans.
“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.” – (Reuters)