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Democrats reach deal on health plan
"We have a broad agreement," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid told reporters, refusing to give details on the proposals that will be sent to the Congressional Budget Office. The government-run plan, along with the issue of abortion, was one of the two biggest hurdles remaining for the overhaul, which is President Barack Obama's top domestic priority. A team of 10 Senate Democrats -- five liberals and five moderates -- had been working for days on a substitute to the government-run plan included in the Senate bill, which has dismayed some moderates. Democratic Senate sources said the substitute proposal would create a non-profit plan operated by private insurers but administered by the Office of Personnel Management, which supervises health coverage for federal workers. The sources said negotiators also sought cost estimates on an expansion of the Medicare health program for the elderly, which is now available at age 65, to Americans as young as 55 who could "buy-in" to the coverage. "Insurance companies will certainly have more competition," Reid said of the deal. "The American people will certainly have more choices." Posted by: Steve White 2009-12-09 |
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