The acting chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is optimistic that the panel may be able to finish work on health care overhaul legislation this week, but Republicans aren’t so sure.

“I’m hopeful we can still get this done this week,” said Christopher J. Dodd , D‑Conn., who has been managing the committee process. “I wouldn’t rule it out, but I want to be fair about this as well.”

The HELP Committee is waiting for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to return cost estimates on some of the draft bill’s most important elements, including an option for government-run insurance (also known as the public plan) and a mandate on employers to offer coverage. Dodd said he expected the CBO estimates by late Tuesday.

But Republicans say that one week is far too short a time in which to wrap up work, and the committee has made it through only one of the bill’s several titles.

On Tuesday, the panel is scheduled to move to a section on preventive health care. Republicans have offered 171 amendments, said Tom Harkin , D-Iowa, and Democrats are prepared to accept roughly 50 of them, so dozens more will have to be dealt with.

And there are more controversial issues ahead: Republicans grumbled Monday that they will need more time for the sections on the employer mandate and on the government-run insurance plan, since the language on those parts of the bill has not been released.

“Mr. Chairman, these are vital aspects of the bill,” argued John McCain , R-Ariz., also noting that Democrats had not indicated how they would offset the cost of their proposals. “So far, there is no cost savings in anything we have been addressing.”

That led to Republican concerns about the completion date for the HELP markup.

“On their time schedule, we’re not going to get the other half of the bill until Thursday at the earliest,” said Michael B. Enzi of Wyoming, the committee’s ranking Republican. “They can’t give it to us Thursday and mark up on Friday.”

Ways to Mandate Coverage

CBO is scoring several variations of the employer mandate and public-plan proposals, Dodd said.

He added that they were looking at several ways to structure a requirement on employers to contribute to health coverage, including a simple mandate to offer coverage, a “pay-or-play” provision that would levy a fine if employers did not offer coverage, and imposition of a penalty on employers whose workers go on Medicaid or another government program because the coverage the employer offers is either insufficient or unaffordable.

But Republicans say Democrats have not shown them any of that language or even an outline, making it difficult to prepare any amendments. “We don’t have an inkling of what is in there. Not even an outline,” Enzi said.