Baucus Says He Leans Toward Backing U.s. Health-care Compromise
Chairman Max Baucus said lawmakers in both parties may embrace cooperatives as an alternative to a government-run health plan, supported by Democrats, to compete with private insurers. Most Republicans say a public plan threatens to undermine insurance companies.
“I am inclined, and I think the committee is inclined, toward it,” Baucus told reporters today after a closed-door meeting of his panel to discuss the idea. He said lawmakers dont want a broad effort to overhaul the U.S. health-care system to “crash” under partisan disputes as it did in 1994 under President Bill Clinton.
Baucus and many lawmakers leaving the meeting said many details must be worked out and it isnt clear the obstacles will be overcome. In addition, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today her chamber is still committed to creating a government-run program.
President Barack Obama has made a health-care overhaul a top domestic priority and is working with Congress to get legislation to his desk by October. He traveled to Green Bay, Wisconsin, today to campaign for broad legislation, telling an audience there that the current system costs too much and delivers too little.
“We have the most expensive health-care system in the world,” Obama said. “Were not any healthier for it.”
Coverage for All
Obama, in his first budget request to Congress, requested $634 billion over 10 years as a “down payment” for the overhaul. Partisan disputes are likely over tax-code changes and spending cuts to offset the costs, which Congress will take up as part of the health measure.
Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate are advancing legislation that would require all Americans to have health insurance, prohibit insurers from refusing to cover pre-existing conditions and place other restrictions on the industry.
Legislation would establish online exchanges for individuals to purchase insurance and would require employers to provide health benefits to workers or pay a penalty.
Baucus said his panel will release draft legislation as early as June 17 and begin pushing it through the committee the following week. Some Republicans, including Olympia Snowe of Maine, say that is too speedy for major legislation and want to slow the drive to approve a plan by October.
46 Million Uninsured
Even as senators discuss a compromise, Pelosi today said private insurers need a “real competitor” and there is “great support” for a government-run program in her chamber.
The idea of creating health-care cooperatives was proposed by Senator Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat. It would allow non-profits to negotiate directly with health-care providers for low-cost rates. The plans they offer would be sold, like private plans, through Internet-based exchanges where consumers could buy insurance at lower-cost, group rates.
Conrad said the cooperatives could be chartered by either the federal government or the states, and that they could receive federal seed money.
Private Sector Option
Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the finance committee, hasnt committed to the idea, though in a recorded interview today with reporters from his home state he called it a “private-sector option” that could boost competition. He said keeping government involvement minimal is key to attracting Republican support.
Charles Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Senate Democratic leader, is working with Conrad on an comprehensive proposal intended to appeal to Senate Democrats. If cooperatives are used, at least one must be national in scope and must receive a “significant infusion” of federal money, Schumer said.
Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, a Republican on the finance panel, said Schumer and Conrad disagreed briefly over some of Schumers ideas at the closed-door meeting, because Conrad wants the cooperatives to be more independent of the government.