Below are some of the sticking points likely to figure prominently in the debate on health care scheduled to begin next week in the Senate:

PUBLIC PLAN

The Senate bill would establish a federally sponsored insurance plan for people who do not get coverage through work. The bill would give states the ability to opt out of providing this government plan.

Several conservative Democrats have said they will not support such a plan, which they say expands government too much. Among the alternatives under consideration are a "trigger" mechanism that would establish some kind of government option only in areas of the country where commercial insurers do not meet affordability standards.

But any move to weaken the public option could drive away liberal lawmakers, many of whom have said they will not support a bill that has a trigger. Instead, they want the legislation to set up a government-sponsored plan as quickly as possible.

SUBSIDIES

The Senate bill will provide subsidies to millions of Americans making between 133 percent and 400 percent of the poverty level to help them buy insurance if they do not get health benefits at work.

Many liberal lawmakers believe the subsidies, which would be available to people buying coverage through a new government-regulated insurance marketplace, would be insufficient.

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid cannot afford to lose liberal votes, but any move to provide more subsidies threatens to push up the cost of the bill and eliminate its promise to reduce the deficit.

ABORTION

Under the Senate bill, many people would receive federal subsidies to help them buy insurance. The bill would require private insurers to segregate funds so only private money from consumers, rather than the taxpayer-funded subsidies, pays for abortion services. The government-sponsored insurance plan would also have to ensure that taxpayer money did not support abortion services.

Conservatives want tighter restrictions mirroring those in the House bill. That House legislation would prohibit insurers from providing abortion coverage to anyone who gets federal subsidies unless the beneficiary buys a separate abortion policy with her own money.

Liberal lawmakers have said they will not tolerate any more restrictions on abortion services.

CADILLAC HEALTH PLANS

The Senate bill would impose a 40 percent excise tax on high-end "Cadillac" health insurance policies worth more than $8,500 for individual plans and $23,000 for family plans.

Labor unions, some of whose members have negotiated generous health plans in lieu of wage increases, are pushing to raise the tax threshold to protect more middle-income Americans.

Organized labor wields significant influence; but any reduction in the tax, which is projected to generate $149 billion over the next decade, would probably have to be offset with another tax in order to replace the revenue the "Cadillac" tax would have raised.



— More, STLtoday.com/TheWire/Health care