| AP is reporting that: In a letter outlining the details, Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said their revised plan would cost dramatically less than an earlier, incomplete proposal, and help show the way toward coverage for 97 percent of all Americans. The two senators said the Congressional Budget Office put the cost of the proposal at $611.4 billion over 10 years, down from $1 trillion two weeks ago. The revising also "virtually eliminates" an earlier forecast that the proposal would cause many companies to drop coverage for their workers, they said.
You can read the original bill here, and view the mark-up sessions here. the Chairman's Mark outlining many of the changes summarized in the letter can be viewed here. It answers to Obama's points in his letter to Kennedy and Baucus in early June. This is very different from the Baucus bill coming out of the Finance Committee. This one is dedicated to providing health care for all, and will, according to the letter, cover 97% of all Americans. There is an employer mandate, with fines for companies not providing health insurance to both full time and part time employees, and an exemption for companies employing fewer than 25 people. There is OF COURSE a Public Option, because this bill is directed at patients and other American human beings instead of towards the benefits of the health care industry. There is a huge set of differences between the two bills. I hope that Senators read both before they vote on either. At least that they read President Obama's letter and realize one bill has a public option, and the other does not. |
