Ted Kennedy and Patty Murray "introduce bill to overhaul health insurance" (w/o a "public option")

Strange Bedfellows (Seattle P-I political blog):

So it begins.

Democrats on Tuesday introduced a bill to rework the way health care is delivered and paid for in the United States.

The last time they tried to do that - at the beginning of the Clinton Administration - things didn't go so well. President Barack Obama and Democratic Congressional leaders are hoping the rising costs of health care and a changed political environment will make things a little easier this time around.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., with an assist from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is just the first step in the process. To read the whole bill, click here.

According to Kennedy and Murray the Affordable Health Choices Act includes the following five major elements:

CHOICE: An important foundation of The Affordable Health Choices Act is the following principle: If you like the coverage you have now, you keep it. But if you don't have health insurance or don't like the insurance you have, our bill will give you new, more affordable options.

COST REDUCTION: The Affordable Health Choices Act will reduce health care costs through stronger prevention, better quality of care and use of information technology. It will also root out fraud and abuse and reduce unnecessary procedures.

PREVENTION: The best way to treat a disease is to prevent it from ever striking, which is exactly why The Affordable Health Choices Act will give citizens the information they need to take charge of their own health. The bill will make information widely available in medical settings, schools and communities. It will also promote early screening for heart disease, cancer and depression and give citizens more information on healthy nutrition and the dangers of smoking.

HEALTH SYSTEM MODERNIZATION: The Affordable Health Choices Act will take strong steps to see that America has a 21st-century workforce for a modern and responsive healthcare system. America must make sound investments in training the doctors, nurses, and other health professionals who will serve the needs of patients in the years to come. It will make sure that patients' care is better coordinated so they see the right doctors, nurses and other health practitioners to address their individual health needs.

LONG TERM CARE AND SERVICES: The Affordable Health Choices Act will also make it possible for the elderly and disabled to live at home and function independently. It will help them afford to put ramps in their homes, pay someone to check in on them regularly, or any of an array of supports that will enable them to stay in their communities instead of in nursing homes

To read more coverage from The Associated Press about what's going on, click here.

Howie P.S.: If you go to the AP article mentioned above, here's what you'll find regarding the "public option":

On a particularly contentious point, the emerging House plan would give people the option of buying insurance provided by the federal government.

Democrats on the Senate committee embraced a similar provision last week but omitted it from Tuesday's draft in what Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said was a gesture to Republicans who oppose it.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the top Republican on the committee, responded derisively. He said Democrats did so "because they know we're not going to like what they've written and they don't want us to have any time to comment."

Howie P.P.S.: There has been speculation that public option supporters are counting on the House members on the conference committee to put it in during the conference deliberations on the bill.