Insurance Center

Senator Max Baucus, (Democrat) Montana, whose recent bill regarding health care was placed before the Senate says that the cost of America's broken health care system has placed financial pressure on families, businesses and the economy for far too long. He says that many people are not able to afford quality, reasonably priced health care.
The White House has looked with favor on the plan presented by Senator Baucus and have called it yet another boost of momentum for the president's effort to reform the health system.

Arguing that it would impose unreasonable new tax burdens on the public, the Republican Senate leadership downgraded the proposal. They also claim that it will lead to the reduction in vital government programs.
For example, one Republican leader, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, said that this is a partisan proposal that would cut Medicare by as much as half a trillion dollars and put substantial new tax burdens on families and small businesses in order to create one more thousand-page, trillion-dollar government program.
He added that it is only in Washington that anyone would possibly think that a move like this could make sense, especially in the present economy.

The last of five congressional committees required to guarantee approval to the health care legislation proposal prior to its being presented to the entire Senate and House of Representatives is the Senate Finance Committee.

A central player in health care negotiations in the House is representative, George Miller, a Democrat from California, said that the Democrats are getting closer to unveiling the final draft of a bill.
The House version in contrast to Baucus’ proposal, would include a public option. The public option has been described as a government agency providing health insurance in addition to that being provided by private companies.

Congressman Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, presented only few details of the congressional bill without indicating any firm timeline for House Democrats to unveil their final draft. He did say however, that discussions regarding this bill have been taking place almost daily now.

Baucus himself has for months been carrying out months of negotiations with five other committee members. Three of these are Republicans and two are Democrats. This is considered as being the only proposal that might be able to win bipartisan support in Congress.

Republican senators Olympia Snowe of Maine, as well as Charles Grassley of Iowa and Mike Enzi of Wyoming, or the three Republicans who make up a part of the “Gang of Six,” are yet voicing concerns that they feel are not being addressed sufficiently.

They intend to keep on negotiating and are planning to offer amendments.
As for Baucus, he is saying that he is optimistic that the bill will ultimately win GOP votes, saying that in the days ahead they will have many opportunities to offer amendments at the time of the full committee’s consideration of the bill.

Grassley says that among the outstanding issues that need to be resolved are the costs to taxpayers, the preventing of taxpayer money from funding abortions, the removal of illegal aliens from coverage, the limiting of medical malpractice lawsuits and the reduction of overall costs.