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Bipartisan Hopes for Baucus Plan Fading
Sen. Max Baucus' decision to release his long-awaited health care overhaul bill with no Republicans on board dims the chances for a bipartisan compromise on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.
Baucus's bill would cost $856 billion over 10 years.
The Senate Finance Committee chairman insisted Tuesday that he'll keep negotiating with the three Republicans and two fellow Democrats who've been in closed-door talks with him for months on the bill he was to reveal Wednesday. Baucus, D-Mont., said he hopes that by the time the committee votes on the bill, as early as next week, Republicans will be there.
This is the last of five health care bills, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes, who notes that Baucus's plan has taken so many months longer to release because it is the only bill born out of hundreds of hours of bipartisan negotiations. And as a result it looks much different than the other proposals.
But for now, despite numerous gestures to Republicans, Baucus has fallen short in his quest to assemble a coalition of senators from both parties behind his proposal. Mr. Obama also hoped for bipartisan support behind plans for reshaping the nation's $2.5 trillion health care system to hold down costs and cover the uninsured.
"The door's always open - always hoping that somebody, all six, will be on the bill," Baucus told reporters Tuesday evening after the latest meeting of his so-called Gang of Six senators. "We're just going to keep the door open, keep working, keep discussing."
Read more of CBSNews.com's complete coverage of the health care debate
Many of the details in the Baucus' bill were already known. Unlike more liberal versions passed by three committees in the House and by the Senate's Health Committee, it shunned liberals' call for the government to sell insurance and relied instead on co-ops to offer coverage in competition with private industry.
Baucus' approach includes a requirement for individuals to buy insurance, with financial penalties for those who don't. Rather than a mandate for larger businesses to provide coverage for employees, they would be required to defray the cost of any government subsidies for which their employees would qualify.
Baucus has been working for months with his committee's top Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, along with GOP Sens. Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Olympia Snowe of Maine. In the end, Democrats believe Snowe may be the only one to support the bill, though she wasn't committing to that Tuesday night.
"Hopefully at some point through the committee process we can reach an agreement," she said.'
Mostly Negative Reaction to Baucus Bill on Capitol Hill
Baucus Plan Would Cost $856B over 10 Years
Baucus' Health Bill Just the Beginning
Baucus: Health Bill Can Get Some GOP Support
Enzi said he was not yet ready to declare his position. Grassley applauded Baucus' effort at bipartisanship, but contended that Senate Democratic leaders and the White House had imposed an "artificial deadline" on the negotiators and that Democratic leaders "haven't made a commitment to back a broad bipartisan bill through the entire process."
"It looks like we're being pushed aside by the Democratic leadership so the Senate can move forward on a bill that, up to this point, does not meet the shared goals for affordable, accessible health coverage that we set forth when this process began," Grassley said in a statement.
He cited Republican concerns over cost, taxpayer funding for abortion services, medical malpractice lawsuits and subsidies for illegal immigrants in any health care bill.
"We've been clear from the start that we're willing to stay at the table," Grassley added. "There's no reason not to keep working until we get it right."
Even as he's failed to win over Republicans, Baucus also faces opposition from liberals on his committee. Some of them want a public plan in place of co-ops, and several have also expressed concerns about whether Baucus, in his effort to keep his bill's price tag down, has done enough to make health coverage affordable for working-class and low-income Americans.
"The way it is now there is no way I can vote for the package," Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters, becoming the first Finance Committee Democrat to voice outright opposition.
Release of Baucus' bill sets the stage for what could be a lengthy and contentious drafting and voting session to begin next week, with numerous amendments expected both from the right and from the left. Following that, Democratic leaders in the House and the Senate are aiming for floor action in the fall.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Baucus's bill would cost $856 billion over 10 years.
The Senate Finance Committee chairman insisted Tuesday that he'll keep negotiating with the three Republicans and two fellow Democrats who've been in closed-door talks with him for months on the bill he was to reveal Wednesday. Baucus, D-Mont., said he hopes that by the time the committee votes on the bill, as early as next week, Republicans will be there.
This is the last of five health care bills, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes, who notes that Baucus's plan has taken so many months longer to release because it is the only bill born out of hundreds of hours of bipartisan negotiations. And as a result it looks much different than the other proposals.
But for now, despite numerous gestures to Republicans, Baucus has fallen short in his quest to assemble a coalition of senators from both parties behind his proposal. Mr. Obama also hoped for bipartisan support behind plans for reshaping the nation's $2.5 trillion health care system to hold down costs and cover the uninsured.
"The door's always open - always hoping that somebody, all six, will be on the bill," Baucus told reporters Tuesday evening after the latest meeting of his so-called Gang of Six senators. "We're just going to keep the door open, keep working, keep discussing."
Read more of CBSNews.com's complete coverage of the health care debate
Many of the details in the Baucus' bill were already known. Unlike more liberal versions passed by three committees in the House and by the Senate's Health Committee, it shunned liberals' call for the government to sell insurance and relied instead on co-ops to offer coverage in competition with private industry.
Baucus' approach includes a requirement for individuals to buy insurance, with financial penalties for those who don't. Rather than a mandate for larger businesses to provide coverage for employees, they would be required to defray the cost of any government subsidies for which their employees would qualify.
Baucus has been working for months with his committee's top Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, along with GOP Sens. Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Olympia Snowe of Maine. In the end, Democrats believe Snowe may be the only one to support the bill, though she wasn't committing to that Tuesday night.
"Hopefully at some point through the committee process we can reach an agreement," she said.'
Mostly Negative Reaction to Baucus Bill on Capitol Hill
Baucus Plan Would Cost $856B over 10 Years
Baucus' Health Bill Just the Beginning
Baucus: Health Bill Can Get Some GOP Support
Enzi said he was not yet ready to declare his position. Grassley applauded Baucus' effort at bipartisanship, but contended that Senate Democratic leaders and the White House had imposed an "artificial deadline" on the negotiators and that Democratic leaders "haven't made a commitment to back a broad bipartisan bill through the entire process."
"It looks like we're being pushed aside by the Democratic leadership so the Senate can move forward on a bill that, up to this point, does not meet the shared goals for affordable, accessible health coverage that we set forth when this process began," Grassley said in a statement.
He cited Republican concerns over cost, taxpayer funding for abortion services, medical malpractice lawsuits and subsidies for illegal immigrants in any health care bill.
"We've been clear from the start that we're willing to stay at the table," Grassley added. "There's no reason not to keep working until we get it right."
Even as he's failed to win over Republicans, Baucus also faces opposition from liberals on his committee. Some of them want a public plan in place of co-ops, and several have also expressed concerns about whether Baucus, in his effort to keep his bill's price tag down, has done enough to make health coverage affordable for working-class and low-income Americans.
"The way it is now there is no way I can vote for the package," Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters, becoming the first Finance Committee Democrat to voice outright opposition.
Release of Baucus' bill sets the stage for what could be a lengthy and contentious drafting and voting session to begin next week, with numerous amendments expected both from the right and from the left. Following that, Democratic leaders in the House and the Senate are aiming for floor action in the fall.
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[SNICKER}
The only folks waiting for this bill are CEOs of insurance companies who likely authored it. Max Baucus is a bought-and-paid-for shill of the insurance industry.
Want to simplify Health Care? Adopt the existing system that most doctors and patients find satisfactory, MediCare.
Make MediCare available to all CITIZENS and LEGAL RESIDENTS as an OPTION. Most will opt for private insurance through employers, some will purchase private insurance but about 10 million will need an option because they are self employed, employed by a company that cannot afford group insurance, otherwise cannot afford private insurance or have a pre-existing condition unacceptable to private insurers.
MediCare is the solution.
www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/29988909/sick_and_wrong/print
The Baucus proposal would impose, starting in 2013, a 35 percent excise tax on insurance companies for "high-cost plans" -- defined as those above $8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for family plans.
Health economists believe a tax on high-priced benefits could help slow the growth of health costs by making consumers more sensitive to prices.
The tax contemplated by Baucus is also a big revenue raiser. It is expected to raise $200 billion, money that Baucus is hoping to use to pay for subsidies for the uninsured.
Given how much money this kind of tax can raise, Rockefeller says he understands why it is "tempting."
The West Virginia Democrat worries, however, that a lot of middle class workers, like the coal miners in his state, will end up facing "a big, big tax" under the Baucus bill because they currently enjoy generous employer-provided health care benefits which they receive tax free.
Referring to Baucus, Rockefeller said, "He should understand that (his proposal) means that virtually every single coal miner is going to have a big, big tax put on them because the tax will be put on the company and the company will immediately pass it down and lower benefits because they are self insured, most of them, because they are larger. They will pass it down, lower benefits, and probably this will mean higher premiums for coal miners who are getting very good health care benefits for a very good reason. That is, like steelworkers and others, they are doing about the most dangerous job that can be done in America."
"So that?s not really a smart idea," Rockefeller continued. "In fact, it?s a very dangerous idea, and I?m not even sure the coal miners in West Virginia are aware that this is what is waiting if this bill passes."
Rockefeller made his comments on a conference call with reporters which was sponsored by the liberal Campaign for America's Future.
Get the bill passed without the "cooperation" of the republicans.
What are they waiting for? I want them to get this done ASAP!
Republican Party is a special interest group?s party. Plus they do not like, Obama to succeed, even though it affects the common people. The people?s interest is never been in their agenda
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I don't disagree with your statement, but I would add that the Dems are no different. Almost ALL politicians are in somebody's pocket. It's the only way they can get re-elected. A good argument for term limits (never happen) or for always voting against any incumbent.