Federal Health Care Bills Start to Emerge

Three major approaches to federal health care reform began to emerge this week on Capitol Hill, from both Republicans and Democrats, in both the Senate and the House.

• Sen. Edward Kennedy's Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions released a bill with some, but not all, of the concepts that members have been discussing. It does not include, for example, language creating a public health insutrance plan, nor about an employer mandate. Sen. Kennedy said in a written statement that Democrats and republicans are still negotiating those issues.
  • Read a summary of the bill on the Boston Globe's website.
  • Download the the 615-page legislation from the HELP Committee's website.
• Republican Sen. Tom Coburn released a health care bill that differs from Kennedy's in many respects. A key feature is its reliance on tax credits to help individuals purchase health insurance.
  • Read Sen. Coburn's outline of his bill on The Huffington Post.
• A group of three House committees issued its own health bill. This "TriComm" bill is similar in many respects to the HELP bill.
  • Read the committees' summary of its legislation.

One more committee has yet to submit its own bill - the Senate Finance Committee, led by Sen. Max Baucus of Montana. That bill is expected to be released next week.

The next few weeks will be consumed with committee hearings and revisions of the bill (known on the Hill as "markups").