Reform and Reorganization

Republicans this month will bring President Obama a set of ideas and a more modest health care plan.

While the debate continues in Washington, health care systems nationwide struggle to offset money spent to treat patients who cannot afford to pay their bills.

President Obama is pushing for a final bill, but he didn’t say how he would resolve the questions of policy, procedure and politics facing Congress.

Scrambling for a plan if Republicans win in Massachusetts, Democrats are mulling several options to save the Senate version of the health care legislation.

The party-line procedural vote proved Democrats had locked in the margin needed to pass a far-reaching overhaul of the nation’s health care system.

Buried in the Senate health care package are provisions benefiting specific states and constituencies, inserted by the majority leader to secure lawmakers’ support.

Enmity and acrimony are coursing through a debate with consequences for both sides, as the health care overhaul reaches a crucial vote at 1 a.m. Monday.

Republicans vowed to continue their fight but acknowledged their chances of stopping passage had faded as the Senate neared its crucial procedural vote at 1 a.m. Monday.

Many analysts say the House bill is not as bad for business as many in the health care industry might have feared when the overhaul effort began.

Handing President Obama a hard-fought victory, the House voted to approve a $1.1 trillion, 10-year plan that Democrats said could be their defining social policy achievement.