Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) Tuesday released his version of health care reform, the Affordable Health Choices Act. Notably absent from the bill, however, are the two main hot buttons of the reform debate – an employer mandate and a public plan. Coincidence? I think not.

However, what is in the bill is an individual mandate to buy health coverage that’s on par with the benefits offered to government employees, and subsidies for small employers as an incentive to provide workers with health benefits. Employees and businesses would have the option to buy coverage from a national health care exchange.

According to news reports, Kennedy’s committee – Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions – is meeting today to suss out the devil in the details in time for a public hearing scheduled for Thursday.

Also, word on the street is that the Senate Finance Committee has plans to unveil a bill of its own in the next few days. Will it feature a tax on benefits? That is the question.

Stay tuned for more updates in EBN, the Daily Diversion and BenefitNews.com as reform redux continues.