WASHINGTON – Democrats on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) released a health reform bill Tuesday that would build on employer-based coverage and include a public health plan option.

The Affordable Health Choices Act, sponsored by Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) would cut healthcare costs and help uninsured Americans gain coverage.

“Our health care system is a crisis for American families and President Obama and members of Congress of both parties recognize the urgency of the problem," Kennedy said. "Our goal is to strengthen what works and fix what doesn’t."

Kennedy said his committee will work with Republicans over the next few days on "common sense solutions" that reduce costs and assure quality. He said the work ahead will not be easy.

President Barack Obama has called for healthcare reform legislation by Oct. 1, with the Senate expected to have final legislation ready by July. The House is shooting for legislation sometime in August.

The committee will continue to discuss legislation throughout the rest of the week, with a public hearing scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), vice chairman of the HELP Committee, said the Kennedy bill does not mark the end of the reform debate.

"We still have a lot of work ahead of us," he said. "All stakeholders in the health reform debate agree one of the keys to reining in the rising costs of healthcare in this country is to reduce chronic disease."

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), ranking member of the HELP Committee, was not pleased with Kennedy's bill.

"For health care reform to work and have broad support, it needs to be bipartisan,” Enzi said. "Unfortunately, the draft bill that Democrats released today is a partisan wish-list that will put us on the road to government-rationed health care."
 
"We’ve been meeting with Democrats for months to discuss health care reform, but from what I’ve seen in this proposal, it doesn’t look like they listened at all," he said.

Also on Tuesday, the House released a tri-committee outline of potential health reform legislation.

The chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee, Energy and Commerce Committee and Education and Labor Committee said the draft will fuel further debate on the issue from colleagues, stakeholders and the administration as they craft a final bill.

According to a statement from the three committees, the tri-committee bill would fulfill Obama's commitment to reduce costs, protect current coverage and ensure affordable, quality healthcare for all Americans.

The bill includes measures that would expand the healthcare workforce, expand prevention and wellness programs, reform the insurance market and protect small businesses.