Source: House Democrats trim health bill to $871 billion

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats are aiming to scale back the cost of their health-care bill by giving the government a strong hand in selling insurance in competition with the private market.

President Barack Obama has sought to spend no more than $900 billion during a 10-year period. The initial cost of the House bill was more than $1 trillion.

Yesterday, House Democratic leaders received a new cost estimate of $871 billion from congressional budget umpires, according to a Democratic aide. The figures were preliminary, because no final decision on the design of the public plan had been made, said the aide, who requested anonymity because the deliberations were private.

The House bill with the strong public plan would extend coverage to 96 percent of uninsured Americans and significantly reduce budget deficits.

A $871 billion bill in the House would be in line with the leading Senate bill, the $829 billion measure approved last week by the Senate Finance Committee.

Republicans have opposed government-run insurance and vowed to vote against a bill establishing a public option.