health reform Health Insurance News

TPMDC – The Senate will be in session this Saturday evening, ahead of a scheduled 8 pm cloture vote on the motion to proceed to debate historic health care legislation, TPMDC has learned. Assuming Majority Leader Harry Reid has the 60 votes he needs to leap that hurdle, Democrats will likely have to eat up 30 hours before they can hold the actual vote – at a 51-vote threshold – on the motion to proceed itself. Still with me?

The Treatment (The New Republic) – Ron Wyden will have his day and, in somewhat scaled-down fashion, he’ll have his way. Majority Leader Harry Reid, Finance Chairman Max Baucus, and Wyden just announced that they will be amending health care legislation to include a compromise version of Wyden’s free choice amendment.

The Raw Story – The Senate health reform bill moved one step closer to becoming law Friday when Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) announced he would vote yes in a crucial test vote of the bill scheduled for Saturday.

Huffington Post – The Congressional Budget Office estimates that roughly 33 state – or two out of every three – would offer a national, government-run insurance option for consumers even if given the opportunity to opt out of such a system.

Think Progress – Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) unveiled his comprehensive health reform legislation, which the CBO projects would extend coverage to 31 million uninsured people while reducing the federal deficit by nearly $130 billion over 10 years. The Wonk Room’s Igor Volsky has produced this helpful chart explaining how the details of the Senate bill compare with the legislation that the House passed earlier this month:

NPR – Some Republican lawmakers say the Democrats’ health overhaul could land uninsured people behind bars, but it’s a claim rooted in a rigid reading of the law around tax evasion that seems quite a stretch.

Boston Globe – The health care overhaul bill that top Senate Democrat Harry Reid hopes to bring to the floor as soon as Saturday would cost $849 billion over 10 years and would reduce the ranks of the uninsured by 31 million Americans.

The New York Times – Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, and one of three Democrats who have said they might not be in favor of starting debate on the big health care legislation, issued a statement on Wednesday seeking to clarify his view on procedural votes.

Politico – Senate and House leaders are hoping to close up shop for the year by Dec. 18, even though neither chamber has figured out the end game for health care reform and must-pass appropriations bills.

The Washington Post – Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid scrambled to lock down votes behind a health-care bill that he is expected to present Wednesday night to his Democratic caucus.