Ex-Senate leaders to unveil health care compromise
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trying to prevent a repeat of the 1990s standoff over health care, four former Senate leaders are preparing a plan that combines ideas from both political parties to guarantee coverage for all.
Democrats Tom Daschle and George Mitchell are set to join Republicans Bob Dole and Howard Baker on Wednesday to release a $1.2 trillion proposal that would be fully paid for with a combination of spending cuts and tax increases.
A summary of the plan calls for an individual requirement to carry health insurance, an idea that many Republicans support. But it would also impose new levies on large companies that don't provide coverage to their workers, an approach preferred by Democrats.
Perhaps the most controversial part calls for taxing health insurance benefits worth more than the value of the coverage that members of Congress get.
Republicans have supported such an approach, arguing it would encourage people to switch to less expensive insurance plans, and that might cut overall costs in the long run. But unions, a major Democratic constituency, are adamantly opposed.
Faced with decreasing revenues from the global recession and higher health care premiums, many small businesses are opting to completely drop health coverage for their employees.
ABC NewsHealth Care Rationing Rhetoric Overlooks RealityThe high cost of care means that some employers can't afford to offer health insurance and still pay a competitive wage. Those high costs mean that individuals can't buy insurance on their own. The uninsured still receive some health care, obviously. Video: Obama unveils health care plan The Death and Life of Health 'Reform' Snake Oil For Our Health Care Ills -
FOXNewsAMA to vote on public insurance reform issueThe debate at the group's annual meeting in Chicago underscores how conflicted AMA members feel about the issue of a public health insurance option. Some liken the idea to communism. Other doctors believe AMA leaders must be willing to consider public Video: Doctors Weigh in on Obama Health Plan Cost Concerns as Obama Pushes Health Issue AMA backs off policy of resistance to some health care reform -
Washington PostA summary of the plan calls for an individual requirement to carry health insurance, an idea that many Republicans support. But it would also impose new levies on large companies that don't provide coverage to their workers, an approach preferred by How Will We Pay For The Health Care Plan? US Senate Finance Panel Seeks To Lower Cost Of Health Bill Budget chief sees 'hard slog' on health -
CBS NewsThe massive department she heads is working on plans to expand coverage by signing up more people who are eligible for existing government programs such as Medicaid and children's health insurance. In the interview, Sebelius also said that covering the Health secretary says Obama doesn't seek end to private insurance GOVERNOR PATERSON ANNOUNCES FEDERAL APPROVAL OF NEW YORK'S Sebelius: Single-Payer Health Care Not In Plans -
Consumer AffairsBeaton is one of more than 16 million Americans who have individual health insurance policies. She and two others testified Tuesday about their experiences with insurance rescission. The witnesses charged that insurance applications are purposely long Health insurance companies take heat for denying patients' claims When Health Insurance Isn't Health Insurance CORRECT: US House Panel: Health Insurance Recissions 'Flawed' -
