Congress and the White House have the difficult task of keeping health care reform under $1 trillion, while ensuring coverage to 95% of the population in the United States. Can related exchange traded funds (ETFs) benefit if a cost-effective plan comes to fruition?

A health care makeover under $1 trillion and ensuring that it is universal will be no easy feat for the federal government. Janet Adamy for The Wall Street Journal reports that the Congressional Budget Office said this week that one Senate proposal, when combined with certain expansions to the Medicaid program, would cost about $1.1 trillion over a decade and still leave 15 million to 20 million Americans uninsured in 2019.

The trick for the White House is to make sure that emphasizing that the plan won’t increase the deficit — meaning savings must be found for every dollar spent. The Obama administration is seeking aid from both pharmaceutical and hospital concessions.

Ceci Connelly and Michael D. Shear for The Washington Post report that no single development appeared likely to kill Obama’s signature domestic agenda item, but the constant  challenges has taken the creation of a government-sponsored health care program down to the “negotiable” level.

Nonetheless, health care is the one of the few sectors up in the last month:

• Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV): up 2% for one month

• Vanguard Health Care (VHT): up 1.4% for one month

For more stories about health care, visit our health care category.

Tags: Health Care, IXJ, Obama, Sector ETFs, VHT, XLV