Va. lawmakers await details on health-care plan

Virginia’s congressional delegation was silent yesterday on the health-care overhaul plan of the Senate Finance Committee as it awaited a closer look at the proposal.

A spokesman for Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, the No. 2 Republican in the House, noted that the Senate Finance Committee has not voted on the bill.

The House of Representatives is not likely to vote until after the Senate votes, Cantor spokesman John Murray said. He also noted that the House has voted on bills in two committees.

Though the Finance Committee version did not adopt a “public option,“ which has been the focus of nationwide protests, the ultimate House bill will “remain heavy on the public option,“ Murray said.

In a public option, a government-operated health-care plan would be created to compete with the private insurance market.

Stepping up pressure for support of a health-care bill, Kathleen Sebelius, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, released a statistical report on the status of health care in Virginia.

“The status quo is unsustainable, and continuing to delay reform is not an option,“ she said.

She said the number of uninsured in Virginia has increased from 695,000 in 2001 to 962,000 in 2008. The percentage of people with employer-based coverage fell from 75.6 percent to 71.2 percent, she added.  Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or

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