The Terribly Bad, No-Good Baucus "Fauc-Us" Bill

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/9/16/782782/-The-Terribly-Bad,-No-Good-Baucus-Fauc-Us-Bill

Chairman Max Baucus's bill has been roundly panned by Democrats on his own Senate Finance Committee, the Republicans who still refuse to vote for an essentially Republican health care bill that bans funding of abortions and health care access to illegal immigrants, and he seems to be the only one proud of his bill.

It's a bill that punishes the middle class with an individual mandate to buy private insurance plans they can't afford, including fines up to $3,800 for a family that makes more than $66,000 a year. It's a major giveaway to private insurers, with a community rating of 5:1 based on age. And the Chairman's mark says that families could face a community rating up to 7.5:1. That means they'd pay 7.5 times what a young person pays for their insurance policy.

Taking together all permissible risk factors, premiums within a family category could not vary by more than a 7.5:1 composite ratio.

And this, straight out of the Chairman's mark, is a wet dream for private insurers:

No later than 2013, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) shall develop model rules for the creation of “health care choice compacts.” Starting in 2015, states may form “health care choice compacts” to allow for the purchase of individual health insurance across state lines. “Health care choice compacts” may exist between two or more states. Once compacts have been agreed to, insurers would be allowed to sell policies in any state participating in the compact. Insurers selling policies through a “health care choice compact” would only be subject to the laws and regulations of the state where the policy is written or
issued.

(end snip)

That last part, called selling insurance across state lines, is nothing more than a deregulation of the insurance industry and dump of state consumer protection laws. It has been the only thing I have ever heard the Thugs say they ever wanted out of health care reform. Guess Baucus gave it to them, and now they won't even vote for it. (and I loved the title of this diary.)

Baucus' efforts have been a joke. The publicity his absurd bill negotions have recieved is completely out of step with the support for it. Other committees actually already have real bills that have been hammered out and yet the mainstream media gives Baucus stupid amounts of attention. The best thing that could happen with the finance committee is that no bill comes out of it. None. Nothing.

And likewise no bill should be referred to there either now that Baucus has proven that he is more interested in finding a compromise between nutty conservatives and blue dogs than he is between Democrats and Republicans.

I can't even stand to look at him.

:(