Pelosi unveils $894 billion House health overhaul bill; expands coverage to 36 million Americans

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday morning unveiled a House health care reform plan that is expected to cost about $894 billion and "provide insurance to up to 36 million people by broadly expanding Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for the poor, and by offering subsidies to moderate-income Americans to buy insurance either from private carriers or a new government-run plan," the The New York Times reports. "According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill would reduce future federal deficits by about $30 million over the next 10 years."

The House measure is similar to a proposal being considered in the Senate. "But there are crucial differences," according to the Times. "The House bill, for instance, would impose a new income surtax on individuals earning more than $500,000 and couples earning more than $1 million - a so-called millionaire's tax. The Senate would impose a tax on high-cost insurance policies, a move that experts say could help lower long-term health care costs by giving employers, employees and private insurers incentive to reduce expenditures" (Herszenhorn, 10/29). 

The Washington Post: The bill includes a version of the "public option" preferred by moderates and raises Medicaid eligibility levels to 150 percent of the federal poverty level for all adults, a steeper increase than in earlier drafts. "'Today we are about to deliver on the promise of making affordable, quality health care available for all Americans,' Pelosi said, describing a bill that she said would insure 36 million more Americans. '...We are putting forth a bill that reflects our best values and addresses our greatest challenges.'" The House legislation aims to provide health insurance of one form or another to 96 percent of all Americans at an expected cost just below $900 billion over 10 years, without increasing the federal budget deficit for at least 20 years, House Democrats said. "It opens the doors to quality medical care for those who were shut out of the system for far too long," Pelosi said (Murray, 10/29). .