Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee defended their health care plan against Republican attacks, maneuvering it out of committee on a 23–18 vote. Read more »
Moderate "Blue Dog" Democrats showed their potential influence on a health care overhaul before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, joining Republicans to adopt an amendment aimed at preventing the creation of duplicative government health programs. Read more »
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee has sent a health care overhaul to the Senate floor, after a nearly month-long markup featuring hundreds of amendments. The committee approved the bill on a party-line 13–10 vote. The legislation eventually will be combined with a closely related, but more politically moderate measure being prepared by the Finance Committee. Read more »
The health care overhauls released to date would increase, not reduce, the burgeoning long-term health costs facing the government, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Douglas Elmendorf said. Read more »
With growing cost concerns threatening to derail the Obama administration's health overhaul efforts, White House Office of Management Budget Director Peter R. Orszag urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to consider rewriting a House Democratic overhaul plan to include language creating a new council to hold Medicare spending to levels projected under current law or to lower them. Read more »
The American Medical Association endorsed House Democrats' health overhaul bill, casting aside earlier qualms over a public plan option and giving an important boost to the legislation as three House committees worked on marking it up. Read more »