WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather, and Sports |Former Sen. Frist thinks healthcare bill will pass by year's end

Former Sen. Frist thinks healthcare bill will pass by year's end

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Major changes to healthcare in the United States are one step closer to becoming a reality after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping healthcare reform bill late Saturday night by just five votes.

Sunday morning, by coincidence, former Tennessee Senator Bill Frist was the guest speaker at Christ Church in Brentwood.

He was invited to talk in honor of the people who work in Middle Tennessee’s medical community.

Dr. Frist said the timing is appropriate to talk about what the bill’s passing means to Americans.

“For me, it's a financial issue yes, but even more importantly, it is a moral issue,” he said.  “That we bring those people who don't have access to affordable healthcare into our healthcare system and healthcare sector today."

Dr. Frist told the crowd he is invested in healthcare reform, though not an active part of the debate.

"I'm very hopeful that my body, the United States Senate can take what the House has developed and shape it in a bipartisan way to not only get the uninsured into the market, but also do what most Americans expect, and this is control cost of healthcare for this country,” he said.

Dr. Frist said while there is a lot of work to do on Capitol Hill, he hopes both sides of the aisle can come together to create a final version of the bill.

"When Harry Reid, who is the Senate Majority Leader, came out last week and said he doesn't have the votes, it concerns me but what I hope it really does is it puts people together and say we need a bipartisan bill, not a left leaning liberal bill, but a bill that really does appeal to main stream America."

Dr. Frist added he thinks the chances are high the bill will be passed by the end of the year.

"I think a healthcare bill will pass, definitely for sure,” he continued.  "I hope it's a good bill.  I hope it's a bipartisan bill.  I think there's about a 60% chance that it'll pass this year."