NC's Hagan backs health bill despite big price tag : MIKE BAKER

North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan said Wednesday she supports the key details of a new health plan proposed by her Democratic colleagues, praising the bill for not increasing the nation's deficit.

The Democratic lawmaker endorsed the measure despite its cost - $856 billion over 10 years. Senate leaders hope to pay for the bill with $507 billion in cuts to government health programs and $349 billion in new taxes and fees.

"While there are many details that still need to be worked out, we ultimately need health insurance reform that ensures people who like their insurance and doctors keep them, expands access to health insurance for those without it, and slows down the skyrocketing cost," said Hagan, a moderate freshman who would stand as a key vote for her party.

North Carolina's other senator, Republican Richard Burr, rejected the health care proposal despite Democratic concessions on a contentious public insurance option. Burr, arguing that the measure "fails several crucial tests," said he opposed the measure because of increased spending, taxes and cuts to Medicare.

"The need for health care reform is clear, but it is even more important that we get this right so that our children and grandchildren do not have to spend a lifetime correcting our mistakes," Burr said in a statement.

Burr had long opposed President Barack Obama's plan to create a government insurance option to compete with private carriers. The latest Democratic plan released by Sen. Max Baucus does not include such a plan but instead a system of nonprofit member-owned cooperatives - something Burr had previously said he would consider.

The bill's costs are offset by a new tax on high-cost insurance plans, fees and taxes for the health care industry, and penalties for people or large companies who refuse to partake in health insurance. Medicare spending would be cut by $500 billion over a decade, with about one-quarter of that money coming from private plans sold as an alternative to traditional government coverage.

While Republicans have largely denounced Democratic health plans, Burr has been a leading GOP voice in introducing a competing idea. That proposal would raise money by taxing health benefits and use the revenue to give people tax credits to buy their own care.