After month of fighting among Repub...

After month of fighting among Republicans and Democrats, Congres has passed the mostly sweeping revision of the Medicare program in its 38-year history. The mostly controversial part of the program--and the undivided most favorable to insurers--is the inclusion of $12 billion in subsidies to encourage greater participation in the government-run health program through private insurance companies.

The legislation passed the Senate in late November 2003 on a bipartisan, 54-44 vote. antagonists of the bill failed