September 7, 2009 - Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images North America
The big unveiling has been much anticipated, but just like an over-hyped summer movie this one is going straight to DVD. Senate Finance Committee Chairman, Max Baucus, has released a draft of his healthcare reform plan and it is anything but a resolution to this debate. He was unable to garner support even among his “gang of six” and he is expected to head to the podium alone to share the plan he has drawn up. The plan will be picked over by members of the Finance Committee in the days to come with the hopes that the plan can eventually become a bill sometime in the weeks to come.
So what’s in this thing?
The bill by Baucus, chairman of the Finance Committee, would make major changes to the nation’s $2.5 trillion health care system, including requiring all individuals to purchase health care or pay a fine, and language prohibiting insurance company practices like charging more to people with more serious health problems.
“This is a unique moment in history where we can finally reach an objective so many of us have sought for so long,” Baucus said. “The Finance Committee has carefully worked through the details of health care reform to ensure this package works for patients, for health care providers and for our economy.”
Consumers would be able to shop for and compare insurance plans in a new purchasing exchange. Medicaid would be expanded, and caps would be placed on patients’ yearly health care costs. The plan would be paid for with $507 billion in cuts to government health programs and $349 billion in new taxes and fees.
I bolded it so, you could see it clearly, but yes, the individual mandate is in the bill. Personal liberty tossed aside as a concession to the Left and an effort to pay the bill for this thing that no one wants. Fines are taxes people!!
What do Republicans have to say about the plan? While he hasn’t been much of a leader in this debate, this is what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had to say about the Baucus proposal.
McConnell Statement on the Baucus Draft Wednesday, September 16, 2009 ‘Only In Washington Would Anyone Think That Makes Sense, Especially In This Economy’ WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement Wednesday regarding the Baucus draft: “This partisan proposal cuts Medicare by nearly a half-trillion dollars, and puts massive new tax burdens on families and small businesses, to create yet another thousand-page, trillion-dollar government program. Only in Washington would anyone think that makes sense, especially in this economy.”
from the Office of Senator Mitch McConnell
The moral of the story here is that this plan is a bust just like the many that have been presented in the House. It is nothing more than a compromised proposal that attempts to please as many people as it possibly can but succeeds in satisfying no one.
The truth is that this is a partisan bill that will still go nowhere. There are no meaningful concessions to gain Republican support and it lacks the public option that would bring those on the Left to the table. I am not quite sure what Baucus has been working on for the last few weeks because this proposal sounds a lot like what he was discussing two weeks ago.
This ‘plan’ will be the undoing of america. I pray that it fails. I cannot afford this mandate. How will I pay for htat when I cant find work?
Oh dont worry. Once this thing comes out of committee it will have something for everyone. It will tax insurance companies to make sure you get healthcare for free
1000 pages, 200000 words and nothing new. right on
I couldnt agree more that this plan offers nothing new or innovative. It is simply a continuation of the same high points that have been bounced around for weeks. Frankly, I have no idea as to what he was working on all this time.