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The bill unveiled by Senate Democrats today would cost less than the bill passed by the House in late October, but would guarantee coverage for fewer people.
Both seek to offer a sweeping overhaul of the current system, boosting the proportion of Americans with insurance to at least 94 percent from current 85 percent.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate bill would cost $849 billion over 10 years, while reducing then number of uninsured Americans by 31 million. This would bring the proportion of insured Americans to 94 percent.
By contrast, the House bill would cost $1.2 trillion over a decade, and ensure coverage for 96 percent of Americans, according to ABC News.
The Senate bill and House bill differ in some other important ways.
The Senate bill, for instance, would likely increase Medicare payroll tax on wealthy Americans and create a user-based tax for high-cost "Cadillac" plans offered through employers, according to the New York Times.
Senate Democrats also claim that the cost of the bill would be offset by new taxes and budget cuts, meaning it would draw down the federal deficit by $127 billion in a decade.
The House bill has been endorsed by both AARP and the American Medical Association.
