Climactic Senate Finance committeevote scheduled Tuesday on 10-year, $829B health care bill

October 7th, 2009 Senate health care bill to cost $829 billionWASHINGTON — Health care legislation drafted by a key Senate committee would expand coverage to 94 percent of the eligible population at a 10-year cost of $829 billion, congressional budget experts said Wednesday in a preliminary estimate. The Congressional Budget Office added that the measure would reduce federal deficits by $81 billion over a decade and probably lead to "continued reductions in federal budget deficits" in the years beyond.

October 6th, 2009 Higher taxes in health care billWASHINGTON — Congressional tax experts say Senate health care legislation would impose $29 billion more in taxes on health care industries than originally thought. The Joint Committee on Taxation says drug companies, medical device manufacturers and insurers would pay $121 billion over 10 years as a result of taxes in the Senate Finance Committee bill.

October 5th, 2009 Senate committee vote slipsWASHINGTON — It's going to take a little longer for the last congressional committee writing health care legislation to finish its work. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana had hoped for a final vote by his panel on Tuesday, but a cost analysis from the Congressional Budget Office isn't ready yet.

September 24th, 2009 Tensions on rise in health care debateWASHINGTON — Tempers are flaring as the Senate Finance Committee starts its third day of exhaustive deliberations on a sweeping overhaul of the health care system. Republican Sen.

September 22nd, 2009 Measure would encourage innovations for the illWASHINGTON — The Senate Finance Committee has adopted the first amendment to a sweeping health overhaul bill, agreeing to a measure to encourage innovative care for hospitalized Medicare patients. Approval of the amendment by Democratic Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota came late Tuesday as Democrats struggled to push forward on the first day of debate on the legislation.

September 16th, 2009 Details on costs of Baucus health care billA rundown of the new spending in Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus' health care overhaul bill, and a look at how it's paid for. The numbers are 10-year totals covering 2010-2019.

September 16th, 2009 White House: Senate health bill a 'building block'WASHINGTON — The White House says a health care reform bill from a key Senate committee is "an important building block" in getting closer to comprehensive health care reform. Sen. Max Baucus released the long-awaited version of the bill from his Senate Finance committee Wednesday.

September 16th, 2009 Baucus calls health care bill commonsense measureWASHINGTON — A prominent Democratic senator is calling his 10-year, $856 billion health care bill a common sense measure that can win broad support. Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Finance Committee, unveiled his much-awaited legislation Wednesday after months of bipartisan negotiations that failed to win visible Republican support.

August 23rd, 2009 Talk of Senate voting maneuvers on health careWASHINGTON — A Republican senator predicts Democrats will turn to a little-used voting procedure to try get around GOP opposition and pass health care legislation. It takes 60 votes to shut down GOP opposition and move ahead to an up-or-down vote on a bill.

August 23rd, 2009 Senator: Single health care bill a better approachWASHINGTON — A key Democrat in the health care debate says separating out the various issues and putting them in different bills isn't likely to work. Some lawmakers have suggested that a separate bill with changes that are supported by Republicans and Democrats would be one route toward progress on the health care overhaul.

August 19th, 2009 White House: Obama would go to moon for his goalWASHINGTON — How far is President Barack Obama willing to go for a deal on overhauling the health care system? Try all the way to the moon. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs joked Wednesday that Obama would orbit the moon if he thought it would help get a deal on a bill Congress can vote on after it returns from summer break.

August 4th, 2009 Reid: Democratic senators united on health careWASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says his party's caucus has "absolute unity" on the need to pass health care reform this year. The Nevadan, joined by other lawmakers, spoke to reporters Tuesday afternoon on a White House driveway after Senate Democrats met over lunch with President Barack Obama.

July 30th, 2009 GOP senator says health care bill not readyWASHINGTON — A key Republican senator involved in bipartisan talks on health care says there's no way a breakthrough will happen before lawmakers' August recess. Wyoming Sen.

July 15th, 2009 Obama stepping up push for health care overhaulWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has scheduled an appearance in the White House Rose Garden today to talk about his top domestic priority: health care reform. The president wants the House and Senate to pass legislation overhauling the nation's health care system before lawmakers leave town for their annual August recess.

June 16th, 2009 AP sources: Senate health overhaul costs top $1.6TWASHINGTON — The latest cost estimates for health care legislation in Congress are around $1.6 trillion over 10 years, two Senate sources said Tuesday as concerns mounted over the price tag for the sweeping overhaul. Two Senate staffers, one Democratic and one Republican, said Congressional Budget Office estimates put the cost of the Finance Committee version of the bill at around $1.6 trillion.