Senator explains her U-turn on healthcare

WASHINTON, D.C., Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, who had voted previously in favor of a healthcare reform bill, said Sunday she opposed the bill now because it "became bigger."

In an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation," Snowe said the measure being debated in the Senate would establish a new taxpayer funded entitlement and she expected it would operate at a deficit.

Snowe was the only Republican on the Senate Finance Committee to vote in favor of the legislation before it went to the full Senate.

"The problem is the bill became bigger," Snowe said. "It has the class act which is a whole new entitlement that frankly will turn in the red five years after the benefits begin. It's a long-term care insurance. And it's a whole new entitlement."

The Congressional Budget Office has projected the measure would spend $871 billion during its first 10 years and would lead to a reduction in federal deficit spending.

The bill extends healthcare coverage to 31 million people currently not covered by insurance. It tightens restrictions on public funding for abortion and bars insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

A final Senate vote is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday.