David Morgan
Reuters
1:12 p.m. EDT, August 16, 2011
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The government's soaring healthcare bill will be high on the agenda of Congress's new deficit-cutting "super committee," which has been assigned the task of finding by November 23 at least $1.2 trillion in savings.
Few major structural changes are expected for the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs given the time constraints.
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The committee, formed this month under the last-minute debt-ceiling compromise between Obama and Congress, is far more likely to seek narrower but tangible results, according to analysts, former policymakers and congressional aides.
Committee members have said they expect to work from existing proposals from independent groups, Republican and Democratic lawmakers, Obama's 2010 bipartisan deficit commission and others.
more at link, including speculation on various scenarios and outcomes.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/sns-rt-us-usa-debt-healthcaretre77f4y20110816,0,5797144.story