|
Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has presented the first Democratic health proposal since President-elect Barack Obama's victory. Aimed at ensuring that all Americans can access affordable coverage, the plan would create a nationwide insurance pool called the Health Insurance Exchange for those who do not have health care coverage. While the Exchange is being created, the Baucus plan would make health care coverage immediately available to Americans aged 55 to 64 through a Medicare buy-in, and it would begin to phase-out the current two-year waiting period for Medicare coverage for individuals with disabilities. The plan would also address overpayments to private insurers in the Medicare Advantage program and provide every American living below the poverty level with access to Medicaid. The Baucus plan outlines options for shifting the focus of long-term care from institutional care to services provided in the home and community. The 89-page health care blueprint, "A Call To Action: Health Reform 2009," presents in broad outline Baucus's proposals for reform. The Health Insurance Exchange would be a marketplace where Americans could compare and purchase the plans of their choice. Private insurers offering coverage through the Exchange would be precluded from discrimination based on pre-existing conditions. Once coverage is made affordable, all Americans would be required to have health care insurance, according to the plan. This revives a debate during the Democratic primaries, in which Sen. Hillary Clinton favored such a mandate and Sen. Obama did not. Baucus said that only a mandate could ensure people didn't wait until they were ill to buy health insurance, forcing up the price for everyone. Baucus states that his plan "is not intended to be a legislative proposal," but rather a "next step" in reforming the nation's health care system. He will hold hearings on the plan to receive feedback, with the first hearing scheduled for November 19th. Baucus says he intends to push Congress to overhaul the health care system during the first six months of next year. "President-elect Obama applauds Chairman Baucus's work to draw attention to the challenges of the health system and looks forward to working closely with the chairman and other congressional leaders, as well as the American public, to make quality, affordable health care a reality for all Americans." said Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for Obama's transition team. For more on the Baucus plan and a link to the plan's full text, go to: http://finance.senate.gov/healthreform2009/home.html (The plan's long-term care provisions begin on page 78.) For an Associated Press article on the plan, click here.
|
