Democrats push healthcare reform

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Democrats in the US have unveiled their healthcare proposals, pledging to meet President Obama's goal of passing legislation before their August break.

The plan from Democrats in the House of Representatives would make healthcare a right for all Americans.

The scheme is estimated to cost more than $1 trillion (£0.6 trillion) and medical providers, employers and the wealthy would pay much of that.

Mr Obama said the US had no choice but to change a "broken system".

In the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Energy and Commerce committee, Democrat Henry Waxman of California, said:

"We cannot allow this issue to be delayed. We cannot put it off again.

"We, quite frankly, cannot go home for a recess unless the House and the Senate both pass bills to reform and restructure our healthcare system."

In the Senate, the Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he wanted debate to begin a week from Monday.

With the Senate Finance Committee still struggling to reach consensus, that timetable could slip. But talk of deadlines suggests a new sense of urgency, correspondents say.

Don't be fooled by folks trying to scare you saying we can't change the health care system President Obama

President Obama himself has brought the issue into focus, deviating from prepared remarks to discuss healthcare during a speech in Michigan.

He has scheduled a Rose Garden news conference for Wednesday to make more comments on the subject.

"There's going to be a major debate over the next three weeks," President Obama said in Warren, Michigan.

"And don't be fooled by folks trying to scare you saying we can't change the healthcare system. We have no choice but to change the healthcare system because right now it's broken for too many Americans."

President Obama wants both houses to pass legislation before the August recess to slow rising costs and extend coverage to some 50 million Americans without insurance.

Affordable insurance

Some key points of the House Democrats' plan are:

<ul class="bulletList" ><li>The federal government would be responsible for ensuring that every person, regardless of income or the state of their health, has access to an affordable insurance plan </li><li>Individuals and employers would have new obligations to get coverage, or face hefty penalties </li><li>There would be a 5.4% tax increase on individuals making more than $1m a year, with a gradual tax beginning at $280,000 for individuals </li><li>Employers who do not provide coverage would be hit with a penalty equal to 8% of workers' wages, with an exemption for small businesses </li><li>Individuals who decline an offer of affordable coverage would pay 2.5% of their incomes as a penalty, up to the average cost of a health insurance plan. </li></ul>

Business opposition

Three House committees will begin voting on the bill on Thursday.

Changes in the legislation may satisfy a group of moderate and conservative Democrats who have so far withheld support, correspondents say.

But the 1,000-page bill is unlikely to attract any Republican backing, and business groups and the insurance industry say it will undermine jobs.

The business groups also warned that the US healthcare system could be damaged by adding a government-run insurance plan and a federal council that would make some decisions on benefits, as called for in the legislation.

Thirty-one organisations signed a letter against the measures, including the US Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable representing top corporate CEOs and the National Retail Federation.

In the Senate, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is working to finish its version of the legislation on Wednesday.

The Finance Committee is trying to produce a bill by the end of the week, though the committee's chairman, Democratic Senator Max Baucus of Montana, acknowledged it would be a challenge to meet President Obama's timeline.