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Reid unveils $849 billion health care bill
Thursday, November 19, 2009 | No comments posted.
WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of maneuvering, the Senate stands at the brink of a historic battle over health care with President Barack Obama and his allies on one side and Republicans, outnumbered but unflinching, on the other.
“Now it’s America’s turn, and this will not be a short debate,” Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, warned after Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled long-awaited legislation Wednesday night to extend coverage to 30 million more Americans and force insurance companies to take all comers.
“Higher premiums, tax increases and Medicare cuts to pay for more government. The American people know that is not reform,” McConnell said.
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, D-Nev., 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.
“Now it’s America’s turn, and this will not be a short debate,” Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, warned after Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled long-awaited legislation Wednesday night to extend coverage to 30 million more Americans and force insurance companies to take all comers.
“Higher premiums, tax increases and Medicare cuts to pay for more government. The American people know that is not reform,” McConnell said.
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, D-Nev., 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.
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