Any sort of public health plan looks like it’s off the table in the Senate.A House bill will probably include one, but the bill (or outline of a bill) that’s getting the most press makes no mention of an explicitly public option for health care. The cost of the so-called overhaul has been trimmed from $1.6 trillion over ten years to $1 trillion over the same time period. Democrats are scrambling to cut costs and decrease subsidies to lower income Americans in order to attract bipartisan support for the legislation. Non-profit health care coops are still being included as an alternative to for-profit health care institutions. There are still substantial health care subsidies being offered to people who are 300 percent above the national poverty level.There are also state-based health insurance exchanges, which the Washington Post explains are a key component to lowering health care costs.Whatever ends up passing will not represent a sea-change in American health care. But as it stands now, the legislation would have enough teeth to affect every American positively. It should also provide substantial assistance to those with low incomes.
The Latest On Health Care Reform
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