"We don't believe a cap is the best way to control rising health care costs," said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry trade group.
To curb high bills, he said, "policymakers need to address the underlying cost of medical care, which is the key driver of rising health care costs."
Among most experts and lawmakers, however, the most serious debates are about whether the caps are too high and whether the bankruptcy problem is exaggerated.
"Health care expenses can contribute in some ways to bankruptcy, but whether it's the precipitating factor is more difficult to determine," said Peter Cunningham, a senior fellow at the Center for Studying Health System Change, a nonpartisan research center.
Cunningham thinks that limits on out-of-pocket expenses are necessary to reduce the financial burden of health care on families as deductibles, co-pays and prescription drug costs rise, meaning "a whole lot of lower- and middle-class people face higher medical bills."
There's some concern about whether the combination of premium costs and out-of-pocket expenses could be too much for some consumers.
The House and Senate bills propose a complex system of premium subsidies, generally for people with incomes up to 400 percent of the poverty level, or about $88,000 per family. The subsidies would be offered on a sliding scale.
For instance, according to Kaiser Health News, under the Senate Finance Committee bill a family of four in which the 45-year-old policyholder heads a household with a $50,000 income would pay $4,169 annually for basic coverage after receiving a government subsidy of $6,911.
Would it be too burdensome, however, to add that $4,169 to another $10,000 to $11,900 for medical expenses?
Such judgments are what Congress is wrestling over.
"That's a big issue. You're looking for a balance," said David Certner, the legislative policy director at AARP, which represents seniors.
ON THE WEB
Dr. Steffie Woolhandler testimony on medical bankruptcy
Pew Center poll on health care
Side-by-side comparison of health care bills
Congressional Budget Office analysis of House health care plan
MORE FROM MCCLATCHY
Moderate Democrats hold health bill's fate in their hands
Reid includes public option in latest health care bill
Americans cutting back on health care to save money
For more McClatchy politics coverage visit Planet Washington
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