The Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the Senate health care bill was released late Wednesday. CBO pegged the cost at $849 billion over 10 years but also found that it would have a deficit reducing impact overall. CBO also figured that the legislation would reduce the rolls of uninsured by 31 million. The bill may see initial voting as early as this week.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) presented the bill to Democratic senators at a special caucus meeting Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, Reid is promoting the Senate Democrats' readiness to begin debate on the bill. "Our purpose and resolve remain strong. We're energized," said Reid on the Senate Democrats' website. "We stand on the doorstep of delivering historic reform to the American people."

Demographic Impact

As the Senate gears up for a possible vote, many in support of the health care reform legislation are publicizing the positive effects that reform will bring to different demographics. Last week, Reid praised a report from the Business Roundtable. "Today's report...is more proof that health insurance reform will lower skyrocketing health care costs for businesses. Their balanced analysis emphasizes what we've already known to be the case: our economy can't afford for reform to fail. According to their report, passing reform this year could help lower the cost of health care for businesses by as much as $3,000 per employee within a decade. They also conclude that without reform, the skyrocketing health care costs that threaten American families will only continue to explode. In short, the status quo dooms the American people and our business community."

That Business Roundtable report states that reforms likely to have cost-saving effects include: value-based purchasing; financial penalties for failing to avoid preventable hospital re-admissions; increased individual accountability for health care spending decisions, including health reimbursement arrangements and health savings accounts; cost and quality of care data that is easier for patients and providers to access and use; elimination of sharp regional variations in practice patterns; promotion of wellness and prevention programs and expansion of financial incentives to participate in specific programs to reduce lifestyle related illness; and insurance market reforms that promote competition and choice. However, the report is firmly against a public health insurance option.

Middle-class Americans are another group expected to reap benefits from the proposals. Several Senators, including Ben Cardin (MD), Kay Hagan (NC), and Patty Murray (WA), held joint press conferences to discuss the likelihood reform will provide stable, affordable coverage, as well as the current impact that health care costs are having on middle-class families.

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