Dribble in at 615 pages is the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s attempt to fix the broken health care system. HELP Committee is chaired by Sen Ted Kennedy D-Mass. The second-ranking Democrat Sen Chris Dodd of Connecticut had a large hand in drafting the bill as well given Kennedy’s absence from the committee while he battles brain cancer.

The HELP Committee aide cautioned that the bill is not in its final form and that part of the reason for filing it is to meet a committee rule that depend upon a bill to be filed seven days before a vote can be held. Committee Democrats will be meeting with their Republican counterparts Wednesday and Thursday to hash out the bill’s details. On the legislation we’ll introduce later today, there are some gaps in it and done so intentionally,” said Dodd at a press conference earlier Tuesday. There’s no gaps in our determination in my determination and that of my colleagues to have a public option to have something done with the pay or play and deal with the follow on biologics but I left those areas open for discussion not because they’re open for some sort of decision about whether or not we ought to move in that direction but I want my Republican colleagues to know I want their ideas I want to hear what they have to say this is a bill it’s an opening step.

The Kennedy’s bill will get its first hearing on Thursday and is scheduled for a committee vote on Tuesday 16th June and Sen Max Baucus (D-Mont.) chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said Tuesday that a committee vote on a health care bill could come as early as the week after next. The battle at an end the future of health care in America now enters a span of several months as important as any in a generation.