House panel approves healthcare reform bill

(Wall Street Journal) UPDATED 2009-08-01

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved a sweeping bill designed to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, clearing the way for a vote by the full House in the fall. The bill calls for a new public insurance plan that would compete with private insurance companies, and it requires all but the smallest companies to provide workers with coverage or contribute as much as 8 percent of their payroll toward helping them buy coverage. Its passage comes after competing members of the Democratic party were able to agree on a series of compromises, including granting the government the ability to directly negotiate with pharmaceutical companies under Medicare and widening the number of small businesses not mandated to provide coverage. Read full story >

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