Three Areas of Debate When Reform Bill Reaches Senate Floor

Sen. Olympia Snowe's (R-ME) suggestion for a "trigger plan" also could come into play as a compromise in which nonprofit agencies would offer health insurance in instances in which private insurers could not cover 95% of the people in their regions with plans costing no more than about 15% of the individual's or household's annual income.

Tort reform. Several Republicans on the Finance Committee cited the Congressional Budget Office response to a query by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) that total national healthcare spending could drop by about 0.5% or $11 billion if tort reform was enacted by 2010.

Medicaid. Several Finance Committee members questioned if Medicaid would be able to sustain an influx of new enrollees in the states and if enough healthcare providers would be available to take care of that population. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) said in discussions on Tuesday that 40% of the providers in his state do not accept Medicaid patients.