Senate Finance Dems Back Public Plan, Blue Dogs Back Away

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Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee expects the Senate's health care overhaul proposal to include a public health insurance plan, Dow Jones Newswire reports, adding that Baucus was "following the lead of President Obama and drawing a line in the sand on the controversial issue." The President strongly supported the public option in a letter to senators Wednesday.

Members of the Finance Committee have been "'really working together on a bipartisan basis,' [Baucus said,] but fissures on the public plan were tough to ignore," Dow Jones reports. "Despite a growing partisan gulf on the issues of a public option and an employer mandate, the Senate Finance Committee appears to be moving full speed ahead on its version of the health legislation" (Yoest, 6/4).

In announcing his expectations for the public option, Baucus said the "government's thumb" would be "very, very light," Modern Healthcare reports, suggesting that the plan would operate more like a private insurer (DoBias, 6/4).

The Blue Dog coalition, a voting block of fiscally conservative House Democrats, said Thursday they would only support a public plan if it is restricted to operating in a manner similar to private insurance plans, CQ Politics reports. "Among their requirements: The public plan must negotiate payment rates with providers; participation in the plan must be voluntary for both providers and patients; premiums and copayments under the plan must pay for its operations; and the plan must follow the same actuarial standards and regulations required of private insurers ... Politically, the Blue Dogs' document sets the coalition's 51 members squarely at odds with a group of 78 liberals in the House who have cosponsored legislation John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., that would expand Medicare to all Americans and outlaw most private insurance" (Wayne 6/4).

This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.