According to Democratic leaders, Pres. Obama is expected to attach the legislation to a budget bill in order to advance the legislation without a 60 vote majority. By using a budget reconciliation process to advance the bill, the healthcare legislation could move forward with a simple majority vote in the Senate.
The legislation is expected to insure more than 30 million uninsured Americans at the cost of $900 billion, and would require Americans to obtain coverage or face penalties, according to the report.
Even with the budget reconciliation process, it is unclear whether or not the Democrats will be able to obtain a majority vote given the ” tense political climate of a midterm election year,” according to the report.
Read the New York Times’ report on Pres. Obama’s healthcare reform legislation.
