The Senate Committee on Finance offered the Roundtable Discussion on "Expanding Health Care Coverage." Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) stated in his opening remarks that after the Committee has spent time laying the groundwork for comprehensive health reform, "The time for action approaches." The Discussion included witness statements from a spectrum of expert and advocacy group perspectives, including representatives from the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, AARP, Heritage Foundation, Families USA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. As an example, Gary Klaxton of the Kaiser Foundation described the problems in care for the uninsured and inadequate coverage even for some with health insurance plans.

On the House side, the Committee for Ways and Means continued its fifth hearing in the series on health reform in the 111th Congress by welcoming Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to a hearing on health reform in the 21st Century. In her opening statement to the committee, Secretary Sebelius stated, "I know there`s a lot of talk about not having bureaucrats make health decisions, but I think it`s equally important not to have private insurance companies make health decisions, overruling protocol recommended by health providers. And part of health reform is to change those underlying rules, to have major insurance reform along with this effort."

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