Amidst dipping public support for health care reform that dropped from 45% of Americans saying the country would be better off with health reform passage down from 54% in November, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's most recent poll, the Senate passed the last two procedural measures needed yesterday and today to cut off debate and move its health reform package forward. With identical votes of 60-39, Senate leaders secured the necessary support to block GOP filibuster attempts, setting the stage for Christmas Eve passage of the bill, H.R. 3590. A compromise was reached between Senate Democrats and Republicans yesterday to schedule a vote for 8:00 AM tomorrow morning.
Of the 47 million Americans currently without health coverage, the Senate health reform package would provide coverage for 23 million uninsured. The House bill would cover 17 million. The price tags of the two chambers' bills differ as well, with the House bill costing an estimated $1.052 trillion and the Senate legislation coming in at $871 billion. (more...)
