1.  Senate Prepares for Health Care Fight

Last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid presented his health care reform bill that clocks in at $848 billion over 10 years and would cover most of the uninsured while also cutting the deficit. The measure would reduce the budget deficit by $130 billion over 10 years, which represents the biggest cost savings of any health reform bill that has been considered by Congress this year. Democrats plan to trumpet these deficit figures to convince wavering colleagues to come into the fold, and Politico states that the strategy appears to be working on some: "Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson and Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu both sounded more positive about voting to allow debate to proceed." The bill would also extend coverage to 31 million people, meaning that 94 percent of people living in the United States, not counting illegal immigrants, would be insured. By contrast, the House bill would reduce the deficit by $109 billion while extending coverage to 36 million people at a price tag of more than a trillion dollars. One of the reasons the Senate version is cheaper is that many of its provisions wouldn't take effect until 2014, a year later than in the House bill, which was "intended primarily to reduce the cost of the legislation," notes the New York Times. That's not the only way Reid's bill differs from the House's. While the Senate version also offers a government-run health insurance plan, it would give states the right to not participate. The way the bill is funded is also different. Although both bills would rely on Medicare savings for a big chunk of the money, the Senate version would impose a tax on high-value insurance policies, a measure that is very unpopular among House Democrats, as well as an increase in the Medicare payroll tax to 1.95 percent from 1.45 percent for those making more than $200,000. The Senate version also pushes the idea of imposing a 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic medical procedures. For its part, the House would impose a surtax on the richest Americans. The two bills also differ in the language over abortion. Rather than forbidding people who receive subsidies for insurance coverage to buy plans that cover abortion, Reid's plan would put up a "firewall" in order to "segregate private premiums from federal funding if abortion coverage were offered in the public insurance plan," explains the Post. Reid is expected to call for a vote Saturday.

Read original story in The Washington Post | Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009