Senate health committee clears insurance overhaul (177 hits)
WASHINGTON – The Senate health committee cast a milestone vote Wednesday to approve legislation expanding insurance coverage to nearly all Americans, becoming the first congressional panel to act on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority. The 13-10 party line vote advanced a $600 billion measure that would require individuals to get health insurance and employers to contribute to the cost. Democratic leaders are driving for floor votes in the House and Senate before Congress goes on its August break.
The health committee bill calls for the government to provide financial assistance with premiums for individuals and families making up to four times the federal poverty level, or about $88,000 for a family of four, a broad cross-section of the middle class. The legislation is but one piece of a broader Senate bill still under development. "This time we've produced legislation that by and large I think the American people want," said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., who stood in for committee chairman Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Kennedy, who's made health care legislation a lifelong priority, is being treated for brain cancer.
But ranking Republican Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming argued that the bill would break Obama's promises by adding to the deficit. Obama quickly issued a statement saying the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee vote "should give us hope, but it should not give us pause. It should instead provide the urgency for the House and Senate to finish their critical work on health reform before the August recess."
