The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee released an early version (PDF) of their health reform legislation today, which, as I noted before, is silent on the crucial questions of the employer mandate and a public health insurance option.
All that, though, will be settled in the coming days and, by the end of the week or early next week the finalized version of the proposal will be released, public option and all. The committee released today’s language in order to meet a deadline: next Tuesday, the legislation will be marked up and today’s announcement fulfills a commitment to release the language a week in advance.
Earlier today, the committee released a summary that was oddly mum about the public option.
An important foundation of The Affordable Health Choices Act is the following principle: If you like the coverage you have now, you keep it. But if you don’t have health insurance or don’t like the insurance you have, our bill will give you new, more affordable options.
But early reports and leaks indicate that it will include robust language, and all indications suggest that the HELP bill will propose broader reform than the Finance Committee’s bill, expected to be unveiled in the next couple weeks. And it’s worth pointing out that by releasing the most progressive language later rather than sooner, liberals and reformers won’t have to spend the next week fending off attacks on the bill in advance of the mark-up.
