The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

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July 2, 2009

<img src=" http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/thursday.gif" border=0> Key Senate Democrats trim cost of health care bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — Determined to advance President Barack Obama’s health care agenda, key Senate Democrats are calling for a government-run insurance option to compete with private plans, as well as a $750-per-worker annual fee on larger companies that do not offer coverage to employees.

In a letter outlining the details, Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said their revised plan would cost dramatically less than an earlier, incomplete proposal, and help show the way toward coverage for 97 percent of all Americans.

The two senators said the Congressional Budget Office put the cost of the proposal at $611.4 billion over 10 years, down from $1 trillion two weeks ago. The revising also “virtually eliminates” an earlier forecast that the proposal would cause many companies to drop coverage for their workers, they said.

The total cost of legislation will rise considerably once provisions are added to subsidize health insurance for the poor through Medicaid, which is needed to ensure coverage is extended to 97 percent of the population, CBO said. The additions will be handled by a separate panel, the Senate Finance Committee, where bipartisan talks are aimed at holding the overall price tag to $1 trillion.

In a conference call with reporters, Dodd said the revised bill had brought “historic reform of health care” closer. He said the bill’s public option will bring coverage and benefit decisions driven “not by what generates the biggest profits, but by what works best for American families.”

Kennedy and Dodd wrote members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday. They disclosed their plans as Congress neared the end of a July 4 vacation, and with lawmakers expected to turn quickly to health care legislation when they return to the Capitol.

The Health Committee could meet as soon as next week to complete its version of the bill, and the presence of a government health insurance option virtually assures a party-line vote.

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