Debate over health insurance now headed to Congress
The U.S. Senate’s Finance Committee passed a mammoth $829 billion health care bill on Tuesday that’s expected to provide health insurance to an additional 29 million Americans. Among the reforms it includes are subsidies to help poorer Americans afford insurance, the establishment of nonprofit health care cooperatives, and the creation of health insurance exchanges to make it easier for small groups and individuals to buy insurance. However, unlike the other four bills put forward by Congressional panels, the Finance Committee’s proposal does not include a so-called public option (or government-managed plan). Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Republican from Maine, was the only committee member to cross party lines and vote in favour of the bill alongside Democrats.