Senate writing final
chapter to health care bill
United
States Senators are debating a package of fixes to the new
health law, demanded by House Democrats as their price for
passing the mammoth overhaul legislation that will extend
coverage to thirty-two million uninsured Americans over the next
decade.
Obama signed the Health Bill on Tuesday, declaring a new season
in America as he sealed a victory denied to a line of presidents
for more than half a century.
The fix-it bill under consideration in the Senate eliminates a
special Medical deal for Nebraska from the new law, softens a
tax on insurance plans that was repugnant to organized labor,
with more expansive subsidies for lower-income people and offers
more generous prescription drug coverage to seniors, among other
changes.
Its approval at the end of this week is virtually assured, since
it's being debated under fast-track budget rules that allow
passage with a simple majority instead of the 60 votes usually
required for action in the one hundred-seat Senate.
Democrats control 59 Senate seats.
The Republicans have accused Obama's health legislation for the
past year: that it raises taxes, slashes Medicare and includes a
burdensome and constitutionally questionable requirement for
nearly all Americans to carry health insurance.
AP/Williams/Cokey
