October 6, 2009

Senate Finance Committee Ready For Vote On Health Legislation

On Friday, the Senate Finance Committee addressed the final amendment in its health reform legislation. Although Republicans have concerns about the conceptual draft proposal, Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, D-Mont., said it has enough votes to pass. By a 12-11 vote, the panel approved an amendment that would allow states to use federal money to establish plans that would negotiate with insurers to cover those with incomes between 133 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

The committee plans to vote on the measure next week. It is the last piece of the congressional health care reform puzzle that will now be drafted into legislative language and scored by the Congressional Budget Office. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the committee’s ranking member, has asked the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service to provide costs estimates to him.

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