WASHINGTON -- Small businesses would have an easier time banding together to offer insurance to employees. Consumers could cross state lines to buy coverage.
Those are among the ideas that Republicans in the House of Representatives plan to push later this week, as lawmakers begin debating how to overhaul the nation's health care system.
One longtime favorite Republican proposal apparently will be absent: The Republican plan will contain no tax incentives for consumers who buy insurance individually, said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.
"Cost," he said, was the reason for the omission.
Chances are that little or none of the Republican plan will become law, since the House has 177 Republicans and 256 Democrats, and Democrats control 60 of the Senate's 100 seats.
The Republican strategy has two missions: Illustrate what the party stands for, and try to demonize and defeat Democratic initiatives.
House Democrats have proposed a 1,990-page bill that includes a government-run insurance plan, or "public option," that would compete with private insurers. Savings in Medicare and a tax on the wealthy largely would pay for the legislation, which has been estimated to cost a net $894 billion over 10 years. The tax surcharge would apply to adjusted gross incomes of more than $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for joint filers.
Debate on that plan could begin late this week, with final votes by early next week. The Republican plan would be offered as an alternative.
House Republicans plan a series of efforts, including a 12-hour online town hall meeting beginning Thursday afternoon, to call attention to what they see as problems with the Democrats' plan.
Their message: "This would be a government takeover of health care in this country," House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana said.
In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has proposed a public option that would permit states to "opt out" of the plan. He's encountered resistance from party centrists, and no Senate debate is expected this week.
Many of the Republican ideas are expected to surface in the Senate, where the rules make it easier to amend legislation.
The Republican effort faces huge hurdles. There isn't yet a firm estimate of how much their plan would cost, nor is there a Congressional Budget Office estimate of how many people the Republican provisions would cover.
