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Finance Committee releases health care reform bill text

The Senate Finance Committee on October 19 released the legislative language and conference report to its sweeping health care reform bill, the America’s Healthy Future Bill of 2009 (S. 1796), but the 1,500 page proposal is certain to undergo changes as Senate leaders and White House staff continue to work on merging the bill with legislation passed by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on July 15.

The bill was accompanied by additional commentary submitted by Sens. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and John D. Rockefeller, IV, D-W.Va., expressing concern that the 40-percent excise tax on high-end insurance plans will end up adversely affecting certain middle-class families. The current provision in the Finance Committee bill would tax plans for individuals valued at $8,000 or more and family plans costing $21,000 and up. The threshold had been lowered during the Finance Committee mark-up, but lawmakers stated that they felt it was still too high.

"We remain concerned that the thresholds…will impact plans that are not overly generous and that in 2019 far too many plans will be impacted by the excise tax. We plan to continue to work with Chairman Baucus on this issue to ensure that provision bends the cost curve, but not at the expense of middle-income Americans," stated the lawmakers.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., continued to negotiate the merger of the two bills late on October 19 as they met with Obama administration officials including Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag and chief health care advisor Nancy-Ann DeParle. Negotiators are expected to meet again on October 20 and hope to have a final bill by October 23, but first they will need a cost estimate on the full legislative language by the Congressional Budget Office.

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