Baucus Offers Health Plan With No Republican Backing

Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus unveiled legislation to overhaul the U.S. health- care system after trying for months to reach a bipartisan agreement on President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.

Without support from a single Senate Republican, the Montana Democrat proposed an $856 billion plan that would require almost all Americans to have insurance or pay a penalty, expand Medicaid, and provide subsidies to help millions of other lower-income people obtain coverage through an online exchange.

The finance committee is the last of five congressional panels to grapple with legislation intended to expand coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and rein in health- care costs, which account for a sixth of the economy. The plans being considered would mark the most sweeping changes in the nation’s medical-care system in more than four decades.

“The cost of America’s broken health-care system has stretched families, businesses and the economy too far for too long,” Baucus said in a statement. “This is a unique moment in history where we can finally reach an objective so many of us have sought for so long.”

In a bid to get Republican support, he’s offering a lower price tag compared with bills approved on party-line votes by the Senate health committee and three House panels, each of which would cost about $1 trillion over 10 years.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJb9bBHZR6gc

They won't vote for the bill THEY WROTE! It's a set up!

CALL THEIR BLUFF! KILL BILL!

And the insurance companies will FREAK! The Republicans will have to vote for it if we don't!

Hope this non-reform bill fails.

I would rather see no reform at all instead of a giveaway to private industry under the false mantle of "reform".

Baucus is a complete whore for the health insurance industry -- almost $1 million in donations from insurance, pharmaceuticals and health professionals during the last election cycle. Please note in using the term "whore" that I no way wish to disparage prostitutes by associating them with a complete scumbag like Baucus.

This is a health insurance company welfare bill, not a healthcare reform bill.

Guess that they are actually trying reverse psychology here... figure the dems are that stupid as to vote for it just because they are pretending to hate it...

The fool has pissed away 8 months and produced zero, zilch, nada. A big fat nothing. If he isn't the laughing stock of the Senate, he ougth to be. And now he wants to do the same thing for climate change.