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All 60 members of the Democratic caucus appear willing to bring the measure to the floor.

By SHAILAGH MURRAY, LORI MONTGOMERY, The Washington Post November 18, 2009

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scrambled Tuesday to lock in votes for a health care bill that he may unveil as early as today.

Reid would not confirm that he had received commitments from all 60 members of the Democratic caucus to overcome GOP procedural objections and bring the legislation to the Senate floor, saying only, "I feel cautiously optimistic that we can do that. I think we're together as a caucus."

The Nevada Democrat was more outspoken in describing his bill, boasting to reporters: "Of all the bills we've seen, it'll be the best: saves more money, is more protective of Medicare, is a bill that's good for the American people."

Preliminary estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the bill's official scorekeeper, have indicated that the Senate legislation will cost far less than the bill approved last week by the House, while lowering the federal deficit further over the long term, said several senior Democratic aides who have reviewed the CBO data.

Democrats are hopeful of winning over at least one Republican, Sen. Olympia Snowe, on a vote for final passage. But the Maine moderate has pledged to support a GOP filibuster at the outset because Reid's bill is expected to include a government-run insurance option that she opposes.

The parliamentary vote on bringing the bill to the floor could come as early as Friday.

Democratic leaders have spent recent days wooing three party moderates who have refused to publicly commit to starting the Senate debate: Sens. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas.

Nelson and Landrieu appeared to be warming to Reid's strategy, Democratic aides said, provided certain concerns are addressed. For instance, Nelson wants the Senate bill to leave in place a federal antitrust exemption for insurance companies; other Democrats have sought its repeal. He is also demanding language that would unequivocally block federal funds from subsidizing abortions.

Landrieu has lobbied for additional benefits for her home state, and Lincoln has insisted on a 72-hour waiting period after the Senate bill is released, to give lawmakers time to review the legislation before casting the first vote.

The three senators and five of their Democratic caucus colleagues co-authored a letter to Reid insisting on the 72-hour delay, but Reid and other Democrats are eager to speed the process along. Nelson, for one, indicated he was flexible on the time frame.

"My sense is whether it's 72 hours or 60 hours, there will be ample time to review it," he told reporters Tuesday.

Reid is believed to have made several major changes to the bills approved by the Senate finance and health committees, in the process of merging them.

In order to scale back a plan to tax high-cost insurance plans, which is highly unpopular among labor unions, Reid is expected to propose an increase in the Medicare payroll tax for families earning more than $250,000 a year.

The provision, a version of which was originally proposed by the liberal nonprofit group Citizens for Tax Justice, is expected to generate around $50 billion over the next 10 years. The extra revenue would allow Reid to reduce the number of people who would be hit by a new 40 percent tax on so-called "Cadillac" insurance policies.

The merged bill is also likely to propose a new government-run insurance plan for long-term care, known as the CLASS Act. That idea has alarmed some moderate Democrats, including Nelson, who say the program is poorly designed and is likely to become a drain on the federal government.

A recent government report appears to confirm those concerns: The voluntary program is likely to attract only about 2.8 million customers by 2012, many of them already in need of home care or other community-living assistance, according to a report by Rick Foster, the chief actuary of the Centers...