Baucus to Push Health-Care Overhaul [View All]

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Source: WSJ

NOVEMBER 12, 2008

By LAURA MECKLER

WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday will release a sweeping proposal to overhaul the health-care system that largely reflects President-elect Barack Obama's vision, increasing the chances for action next year.

There is one important difference between the initiative coming from Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus and the plan Mr. Obama laid out during his presidential campaign: Mr. Baucus would require all Americans to have health insurance, while Mr. Obama has rejected the idea of a mandate. In that respect, the Baucus plan reflects the one put forward by Sen. Hillary Clinton during the Democratic presidential primaries.

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Like Mr. Obama, he proposes a national marketplace that he dubs the Health Insurance Exchange, in which individuals and small businesses could buy coverage, with subsidies based on income. Private insurers and a new Medicare-like public program would compete through the exchange to offer coverage. Some Republicans have complained that such an approach gives government too heavy a hand in the design and sale of insurance. Under the Baucus plan, most employers would be required to offer insurance to their workers or pay into a fund, with the contribution based on the size of the firm and its annual revenue. Small employers would get a tax credit if they offer insurance, with the size of the credit based on the size of the company and its earnings.

The plan doesn't say how large or small companies would have to be to fall under these rules or qualify for the credit. It also doesn't provide a cost estimate, and a Baucus aide declined to give one. The plans proposed by Sens. Obama and Clinton were each estimated to cost about $100 billion a year, not accounting for savings they hoped to generate through new efficiencies in health-care delivery. Mr. Baucus, too, proposes a slate of ideas for reducing costs and improving quality. Many of these ideas enjoy bipartisan support. The document reflects Mr. Baucus's thinking, but an aide said the senator hopes to begin building bipartisan support for it immediately. He hopes to begin with meetings next week with leaders in both parties of his Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D., Mass), chairman of the HELP Committee, is expected to play a major role.




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