Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-Nevada) unveiled his much anticipated health care reform legislation Wednesday evening which would extend coverage to 30 million Americans, force insurance companies to accept new clients, all at a price tag of under $1 billion over 10 years.
MiamiHerald: Obama and Democrats hailed the 10-year, $849 billion measure that would remake the nation’s health care system, relying on cuts in future Medicare spending to cover costs, as well as on higher payroll taxes for the well-off and a new levy on patients undergoing elective cosmetic surgery.
Reid wrote the legislation with White House aides during weeks of secretive negotiations, selecting elements from two committee-passed bills with the aim of securing the necessary 60 votes in a Senate debate that will be decisive for Obama’s health care agenda.
“From Day One, our goal has been to enact legislation that offers stability and security to those who have insurance and affordable coverage to those who don’t, and that lowers costs for families, businesses and governments across the country,” Obama said. Reid’s bill “meets those principles,” the president said.
A procedural requirement, in which Democrats must garner 60 votes, must take place before debate could begin on the legislation in the Senate. This is likely to take place on Saturday.
