Senate leader unveils $849 billion health care bill pass by Christmas

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled a sweeping health care bill Wednesday that would expand health insurance coverage to 30 million more Americans at an estimated cost of $849 billion over 10 years.

Reid and other Senate Democrats cited an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office for the coverage and cost figures.

In addition, they said at a news conference, the budget office estimated that the proposal would reduce the federal deficit by $127 billion over the next 10 years and by more than $600 billion in the following decade.

The CBO figures were preliminary, the Senate Democratic leadership said in a media briefing. The CBO was expected to provide its final analysis later Wednesday or on Thursday, according to the briefing.

President Obama hailed what he called a “critical milestone” in the push to meet his top domestic priority for 2009.

Read the health care bill (PDF)

“From day one, our goal has been to enact legislation that offers stability and security to those who have insurance and affordable coverage to those who don’t, and that lowers costs for families, businesses and governments across the country,” Obama said in a statement, adding that the Senate proposal “meets those principles.”

The proposal drafted from two separate bills approved by Senate committees now goes to the full Senate, where Republicans have vowed to try to block it.

Reid, D-Nevada, needs 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to overcome a certain GOP filibuster attempt and open the chamber’s debate on the bill. It would take another 60 votes to close debate that could last for weeks, while final approval of the bill would only require a simple majority.CNN Report