Senate Finance Completes Work on Health Bill; Floor Debate Ahead

Source:  AAFP Washington, D.C. Office

The Senate Finance Committee on Oct. 13 approved its version of health reform legislation, America’s Healthy Future Act by a vote of 14 to 9.  Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) provided the lone Republican vote for the measure which Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has said would provide coverage to 29 million people but leave 25 million, one third of whom are illegal immigrants, uninsured by 2019.  CBO scored the bill as fully covering the estimated cost of $829 billion dollars and predicted that it would reduce the federal deficit by $81 billion within the first ten years.

The Senate Finance Committee vote sets up a floor debate beginning as early as the last week of October once Democratic leadership merges the Finance measure with the version approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.