Health Care Reform Passes US Senate Committee, Ultimate Fate of Employer Mandate, Government-Run Option UnknownLast

week, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee voted 14-9 in favor of a 10-year, $829 billion health care reform package. The legislation includes an individual mandate and subsidies for low-income individuals and is paid for, in part, by new taxes on high-end insurance plans, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and medical device makers and reductions in Medicare payments. The Michigan Chamber generally considers the Senate Finance proposal to be the best bill to be reported by a Congressional committee to date because it excludes many of the more controversial provisions that are in other House and Senate plans, including an employer "pay or play" mandate and a government-run plan to "compete" in the private marketplace. However, much works remains to be done on this proposal before we can it lend our support.