Pelosi to unveil healthcare reform bill

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is set to outline broad healthcare overhaul legislation that will include a government-run insurance option, aides said.

Pelosi plans to meet with House Democrats Thursday morning before a rally outside the U.S. Capitol to announce details of the measure. House Democratic leaders hope to send the bill to the House floor by next week, with a final vote before Nov. 11, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Unlike the bill favored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., states could not "opt out" of the public option in the House measure. Pelosi said the public option would compete with private insurers but the government would negotiate rates with doctors and hospitals instead of linking reimbursement to Medicare rates.

The plan would meet President Barack Obama's goals, costing less than $900 billion over a decade while not increasing the deficit, the Times said. It would increase the surtax threshold so it would be levied against married couples with adjusted gross incomes of more than $1 million and individuals over $500,000.

The measure is expected to expand Medicaid to cover those who earn 150 percent of the poverty level, or about $33,000 a year for a family of four, The Miami Herald reported.

Employers would have to offer coverage to employees or pay penalties, as would individuals who don't purchase coverage.