Politicalgirl: Overheard on the Hill

Overheard on the Hill is a recurring feature that will give a brief rundown of the happenings on the Hill. It will also feature important legislature that politicalgirls have brought to the floor.

The Senate is very close to agreeing on a health care bill. The past couple of days five moderates and five liberal Democratic Senators have been meeting to hamper out a health care compromise.

The moderates are: Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., Mary Landrieu, D-La., Ben Nelson, D-Neb., Tom Carper, D-Del., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark.

The liberals are Charles Schumer,D-NY, Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Russ Feingold, D-Wisc.

While the public option is no longer on the table, the new plan includes giving Americans the opportunity to buy into the same program that Senators and they staff have, as well as extending Medicare to Americans as young as 55.

The public option only kicks in if private insurers do not participate in the new health care plan.

The bill is no where to being complete however with the Congressional Budget Office needing to score the bill and give the cost of the entire program.