The Baucus Bill

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/opinion/11sun1.html?ref=opinion

<snip>
The Senate Finance Committee may finally be ready to vote on its version of a health care reform bill. For months, its chairman, Max Baucus, and other members have struggled to produce legislation that could win significant Republican support. Fat chance. Only one Republican on the committee seems open to voting for the bill, and the entire Republican Congressional leadership seems determined — for ideological and partisan reasons — to torpedo the entire reform effort.

Still, all the months of wrangling have not gone for naught. The bill has farsighted elements that ought to be included in any final legislation — and serious defects that ought to be remedied. It would do more to contain costs and restrain future deficits than any other bill under consideration, and it is far better than allowing costs to continue escalating on their current disastrous path.

<snip>
With so much attention focused on the Finance Committee, it has been easy to forget that there are actually five separate bills in Congress. Many commentators have treated the Senate Finance bill as the likely template for any final legislation because it may be more palatable to conservative Democrats, and deficit hawks, in both houses.

But the Finance Committee’s bill should be viewed as the least that Congress should do — a foundation upon which to build, not the final structure.

,,,,,,,,,,,,more

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

the largest health insurer in the US?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6751356

;)