Unions will oppose Baucus bill unless it's changed

BREITBART NEWS, 10/13/2009 - [Excerpt]: Labor has been a major Democratic ally in the health care debate but is unhappy the legislation lacks a publicly run insurance plan and would tax expensive policies in an effort to drive down costs. Officials also want it to prevent insurance companies from refusing to cover some people and to force employers to cover their workers. [Emphasis added] Read more at Breitbart... Read More......

U.S. Senate: Health Bill Passes Committee

FOX NEWS, 10/13/2009 - Health Care Reform Bill Clears Final Senate Panel, Tough Negotiations Loom - The Senate Finance Committee votes to send its version of the legislation to the Senate floor after months of closely watched deliberations. ∴ The committee voted 14-9 in favor of the package. One Republican, Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, broke with her party to support the bill. All 13 Democrats on the panel voted in favor of it, while the rest of the Republicans opposed it. ∴ The panel was the last of five to act on health legislation, and the vote marked the biggest advance so far toward health care reform, as the committee's legislation is considered the best building block for a compromise plan in the full Senate. ∴ President Obama hailed the vote as a "critical milestone," in brief remarks late Tuesday. Read more at FOX...

"It's going to cost us an arm and a leg," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said. "The costs of this are astronomical."

"When history calls, history calls," said Sen. Olympia Snow (the only Republican committee member to vote for the bill), while adding that she had some criticism of the bill.

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CBO: Health bill would cost $829B

The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that the latest version of the Senate Finance Committee proposal would expand coverage to 94 percent of all eligible Americans at a 10-year cost of $829 billion. Read more at Breitbart...

"A celebration of the deficit effects masks who pays the bills," said Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee. "This package includes hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes and fees. Most Americans with health insurance will see their premiums increase."

The LA Times reports, "[T]he bill would expand the percentage of Americans with health insurance from 83% to 94%, according to the estimate." Read More......