Washington - US President Barack Obama's plans for a massive
overhaul of the country's health care system came one step closer to
fruition Wednesday as a key Senate committee became the first
congressional panel to approve its version of the legislation.
The Senate's Health Committee approved a health reform bill that
would cost some 600 billion dollars over the next decade. It would
aim to rein in spiralling health costs, create a government-run
insurance option to compete with private plans, and require all
people to get some form of health insurance.
The goal is to cover an estimated 45 million people in the United
States who do not have health insurance. The bill passed the
committee strictly along party lines, 13-10, and is one of a number
of versions making their way through the US Congress.
The Senate Finance Committee is expected to approve a bill in the
next week. Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives
unveiled their own version on Tuesday, proposing a more than 1-
trillion-dollar overhaul with an additional health tax on wealthy
Americans.
Reforming the US health care system, the most expensive in the
industrial world, has frustrated US politicians for decades. Many
have warned that rising costs could eventually bankrupt the federal
government if not brought under control.
'We are now closer to the goal of health reform than we have ever
been,' said Obama in a speech at the White House. 'This progress
should make us hopeful, but it can't make us complacent.'
The effort remains controversial: Conservatives have strongly
opposed the idea of creating a public plan that would compete with an
otherwise market-based system in the United States.
Obama, who launched a fresh effort when he came into office in
January, has said he wants legislation on his desk by the end of the
year. He called on both houses of Congress to pass their first
versions of the bill by the end of the month. After this, both
chambers will have to come together to reconcile their versions.
'Make no mistake: The status quo on health care is not an option,'
Obama said. 'It is threatening the financial stability of our
families, our businesses and government itself.'
The US health care sector takes up about 17 per cent of the
country's economic output, more than any other country in the
developed world.
USA
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