Kennedy plans:

Kennedy plan to outline U.S. healthcare overhaul:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic plans for revamping U.S. healthcare are taking shape, with Senator Edward Kennedy soon to announce a proposal which could form the core of the nation's new health system.Kennedy, a Democratic stalwart whose thinking is widely believed to track that of President Barack Obama on healthcare, is expected to unveil a plan in early June that will include both a new government program to provide medical coverage for all as well as a mandate that every American acquire some form health insurance

The two elements -- government insurance and mandatory coverage -- have been hotly debated as Obama seeks to begin radically transforming the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare industry by the end of the year.Kennedy, who has made medical coverage for the uninsured a goal of his four-decade career, outlined elements of the bill in a column published this week in the Boston Globe.The 77-year old senator said the proposed law would establish a "gateway" for people without insurance or those who wish to change insurers to compare prices, and he made clear a government-run plan will be one of the options available.Kennedy chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, one of two Senate panels that have primary responsibility for crafting the final legislation.

Source;reuters.com