House GOP to unveil healthcare proposal

House Republicans will unveil their version of healthcare legislation on Wednesday, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday, timing the release to coincide with the start of the Senate markup.

The GOP did not reveal details of the plan but noted that it will incorporate diverse ideas offered by leaders and the rank and file in the 178-member conference. The lead architect of the bill is former Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).

“It truly is a conference-wide product that reflects a lot of interests of the conference,” a GOP leadership aide said.

The bill is set to be introduced on the same day the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will begin marking up legislation sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), and during the same week that House Democrats are expected to introduce draft versions of their bills.

Republicans in both chambers have been highly criticalof  the direction taken by President Obama and Democrats on addressing problems with the nation's healthcare system.

They have warned that the other party’s call for a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers will lead to a government takeover of the healthcare system, and have raised red flags about the cost of the proposals that Democrats are drafting.

A Congressional Budget Office analysis issued Monday on the Kennedy bill confirmed that the price tag would be, at a minimum, $1 trillion over 10 years.

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