Senate Democrats are preparing for a key vote as early as Saturday on a sweeping health-care bill paid for by a host of new fees and taxes that would cost $849 billion over the next decade and slash the deficit by $127 billion.
The “Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act” includes a government-run public insurance option with an “opt out” clause for states that do not want to participate and expands health care coverage to 31 million people, totaling 94 percent of all legal residents, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Recommended Stories
It also includes a litany of new taxes, including a 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery, requires Americans to buy health insurance and imposes fines on some employers who do not provide coverage.
“Not only do we make health care more affordable for every American, we also do it in a fiscally responsible way,” proclaimed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., after privately briefing members of the Democratic caucus late Wednesday.
Democratic leaders fashioned their legislation to lure fiscally conservative moderates who are wary of voting for a high-cost bill that might increase the deficit.
The move seems to have worked to some degree, as moderates seemed more inclined to bring the bill to the floor, which will first require clearing a 60-vote threshold.
“I think we ought to get to the bill to discuss it,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., signaling he will vote to bring it to the floor.
Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said Democrats gave “a very positive response to the legislation,” and that the vote on moving the bill to the floor will be “likely Saturday.”
If Democrats are able to come up with the 60 votes needed to bring the bill to the floor, it will launch weeks of debate on the bill and the introduction of hundreds of amendments that will likely yield a much different final product.
Democrats are trying to pass a bill by the end of the year.
Many moderates, for instance, are opposed to the public option in the bill and could move to block a final vote on the legislation, which will also require 60 votes.
“It’s a problem, and not just for me,” said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., a moderate Democrat.
Some Democrats may also object to the revenue sources in the bill, including a new Medicare payroll tax of half a percentage point for individuals earning $200,000 and couples earning $250,000. The bill includes an excise tax on expensive insurance policies that would affect plans worth more than $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for families.
The bill attempts to bring more individuals into the insurance risk pool with an individual mandate. For those who do not participate in 2014, the fine is $95. It increases to $750 by 2016 for individuals and $2,250 for families.
No Republicans are expected to vote to move the bill to the floor and some are predicting a massive interparty fight when the debate begins.
“It’s going to be a holy war,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said.
