Senate healthcare bill hits Obama cost target

There's good news on healthcare reform. Reuters has the story:

U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid released a healthcare reform plan on Wednesday that budget analysts said would extend coverage to tens of millions of the uninsured and reduce the budget deficit over 10 years.

After weeks of closed-door talks to merge two Senate bills, Reid told Democrats the Congressional Budget Office pegged the plan's 10-year cost at $849 billion -- below President Barack Obama's $900 billion goal for his top domestic priority.

The CBO analysis also said the plan would reduce the deficit by $127 billion over 10 years and $650 billion in the second decade while extending coverage to 31 million more Americans, Democrats said, a rosy report card that could boost the bill's prospects in a sharply divided Senate.