The Baucus bill is out, and despite multiple concessions made in an effort to garner some GOP support, not a single Republican Senator has voiced even equivocal support. While Sens Snowe Grassley and Enzi allow that they’re still negotiating, the list of objections likely precludes endorsement by all three. The only potential R supporter at thus juncture is Olympia Snowe who is said to be waiting for CBO’s scoring (assessment of the bill’s cost).
Without any GOP support some Dems will likely wonder why the bill contains provisions that are not viewed favorably by many of their supporters. The question is a fair one. If the Baucus bill isn’t enough to capture a few GOP votes, anything more will be so unacceptable to liberal Democrats that they may withhold their support from any bill with additional concessions to Grassley et al.
We may well see a game of brinksmanship begin soon as the more liberal Dems seek to strip out the co-op, add a public option and universal mandate along with higher subsidies for lower income folks.
We’re about to find out just how serious the Democrats are about health reform, and just how much the GOP wants to block it.
Sep
16
Joe –
Read a good portion of Baucus’ health reform bill and from what I can tell it is very far off the mark to be considered “health reform” or “health insurance reform”. Strikes me that the American Society of Actuaries had a field day with their usual machinations. I been in the self-funded medical plan business for over 30 years and cannot believe that Baucus, et al, could not have addressed our pressing health insurance issues better. Seems to me that no reform is better than this bill.