Details Emerge on Health Care and Insurance Reform Bill and How to Fund

Details Emerge on Health Care and Insurance Reform Bill and How to Fund in Politics and Legislation

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus expressed confidence that a health care bill would be assembled shortly after Congress returns from the 4th of July break, reports The Washington Post.

As it looks now, the $1 trillion health care bill will be fully funded by tax increases, Medicare cuts and new penalties for employers who do not offer health insurance.

The Finance Committee reduced the bill’s price tag largely by cutting subsidy levels for uninsured people. The issue of a government alternative to private insurance has not been resolved, although a member-owned cooperative model seems more and more likely.

The bill may also empower the MedPAC federal agency to monitor Medicare costs and make adjustments with Congress’s approval. The shift would remove considerable Medicare authority from the political process, reducing the health care industry’s lobbying power.

Although there’s still a long way to go, cutting the bill’s cost by more than a third and sorting out a deficit-neutral way to fund it bodes well for its future. And now that the shape of health care reform is finally taking form, we can look forward to a whole new round of debate.

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