Senate Votes to Move Forward on Healthcare Debate

By a 60-39 vote last night, the Senate voted to open debate on Senator Reid's healthcare reform bill (see WSJ and AP reports). Made possible by late support from moderate Democratic Sens. Landrieu (LA) and Lincoln (AR), the cloture vote makes it much more likely that we will see a major healthcare reform bill become law late this year or perhaps early the next. The US Chamber pointed out a late insertion into the massive bill that appears especially troubling to employers because it would enable some employees to cash out of their employer-provided plan to pay for coverage from the government-run option. Certainly expect much more on this bill and the ensuing debate for the next couple of weeks.