Differences between Senate and House health bills increase

CNN reports that the Senate's public option "compromise appears to be a far cry from the government-backed public health care option offered in the House bill. The Senate's original health care bill included a public option similar to that of the House version. The biggest difference was that under the Senate plan, states could opt out of the public option. Should the Senate pass a bill with the public option alternative, merging it with the House bill would not be easy, but there's still a long ways to go before lawmakers get to that point."

CNN highlights some other potential sticking points in a consensus version, including abortion, the Medicaid expansion, an individual mandate and financing (12/9). 

Roll Call: "House Democrats, including some prominent liberals, appear to be warming to the reported Senate health care compromise, despite the inclusion of a 'trigger'" for a public insurance option." Liberal Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-NY., called the proposed Medicare expansion "'way better than a public option' and 'an unvarnished, complete victory for people like me who have been advocating for a single-payer system.'" Roll Call notes that "Other liberals were actively working against the emerging Senate deal, however" (Dennis, 12/9).