The U.S. Senate Finance Committee passed the $829 billion America's Healthy Future Act Tuesday, voting to send the bill to the Senate floor for a full debate.
The committee voted 14-9 in favor of the proposal, with Olympia Snowe (R-ME) the only Republican to cross party lines to vote for the legislation.
Debate over health care reform has been raging in Congress for months, and the Finance committee was the last of five to vote on a version of the bill. The committee's version of the bill eliminates the public health insurance option that has been touted by the Obama administration.
Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) said, "The bill we passed today puts patients and doctors - not insurance companies - in the driver's seat."
"The American people deserve a health care system that works for them and this vote is a critical step toward that goal," he added.
Instead of a public option, the plan calls for the set-up of a system of non-profit, consumer owned cooperatives that would provide insurance and compete with private companies. It also includes the use of federal subsidies to help lower-income families afford insurance and limits on co-pays.
Insurance companies would also not be able to refuse coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Employers would not be required to cover their workers, but they would have to pay a penalty for employees seeking insurance with government subsidies.
The bill will now be melded with another plan approved by the Senate Health Committee before it is voted on. Debate on the bill will likely continue to be intense, as Republicans still largely contend that the proposed reforms will still raise taxes and costs.
Over the weekend, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers warned that the Finance Committee's plan could result in increased premiums instead of making health care coverage more affordable. Specifically, the report said that the plan could add up to $1,700 a year to the cost of family coverage in 2013.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) repeatedly cited the report in a statement released shortly after the passing of the bill, claiming that citizens are largely opposed to the Obama Administration's health care reform proposals.
"The bottom line is this: Americans were asking for step-by-step reforms, of the kind that I've called for in nearly 50 floor speeches since June," he said. "And the administration's failure to present such a common-sense plan is the primary reason that Americans overwhelmingly oppose its plans for health care reform."
However, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) released a statement of his own, praising the committee for passing the bill and stressing the Senate's commitment to change a "broken health insurance system."
"In the Senate, we now move to the important work of merging the proposals of the HELP and Finance Committees with the committee chairmen and the White House in order to craft a bill that can garner 60 votes in the Senate," he said.
Reid added, "We remain committed to passing legislation that lowers costs, creates competition, improves quality of care and preserves choice."
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.