Baucus Health Care Plan: Bye-Bye Public Option

(MoneyWatch)  The wait is over: the Senate Finance Committee's formal health care bill has finally arrived! Chairman Max Baucus unveiled the Senate version, "America's Healthy Future Act of 2009," which sounds eerily like a breakfast cereal. The 10-year $856 billion Senate plan is a $44 billion savings from the number President Obama quoted last week in his prime time health reform speech. (The CBO put the price at $774 billion).


Here's my first impression of what you need to know about the new bill:

What's in: extend health insurance to tens of millions of Americans not now covered; creation of a network of nonprofit health insurance cooperatives; limits on nasty insurance company practices.

What's out: the public option

What's changed: employers with more than 50 full-time workers would pay a $400 fee for each employee if they don't offer health insurance. The fee would be triggered if any employees apply for federal tax credits to buy coverage. This is a significant reduction from the House bill that would penalize companies up to 8% of payroll if they didn't offer insurance.

What's not clear: Who's going to pay and whether or not the plan will add "one dime" to the deficit.

Image by Flickr User ernstl, CC 2.0