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• Union Plus Scholarship Deadline: January 31
• Join Others in Helping Haiti Now
• AFM Asks President Obama for Pension Relief
• Former AMPTP President Passes Away
• AFM and AMPTP Reach Agreement
• House Passes Health Care Bill
• NEA Funding Update
• FULL ARCHIVE

AFM Health Care Update Oct. 20

Congress has moved one step closer to passage of a health care bill with the Senate Finance Committee reporting out their version of S. 1679 last week. The Senate is now working on combining that bill with the version reported out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, a process that Senate leadership hopes to have completed by the end of the week. Before the legislation can be considered on the Senate floor, the Congressional Budget Office will be asked to prepare a cost analysis of the revised bill, which could take several days. One crucial difference between the two versions is the public option – the HELP Committee bill provides for a public option while the Finance Committee bill does not, and instead provides for the creation of private, nonprofit health cooperatives.

Meanwhile, the House is also working on combining the three versions of their bill, H.R. 3200, which were reported out of committees over the summer. All three versions of the House bill contain provisions for a public option, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been firm in stating that a public option is essential for health care reform legislation to pass the House.

According to a poll released by the Washington Post today, a clear majority of Americans now support the public option. The number of Americans who favor a public insurance option has increased to 57 percent, up from 52 percent in August.