Health Care: Baucus Throws a Jab

TW: Health care reform is a frightfully difficult initiative. Max Baucus, Dem Sen. Montana, threw out an initial trial balloon recently. I will blog frequently on the topic but this article from Economist is good in that it briefly summarizes some of Baucus' key points which are very similar to Obama's stated goals. One huge difference is Baucus advocates mandated coverage (like Clinton proposed but Obama opposed during the primaries).

From Economist:

"Create a new health insurance exchange that would guarantee coverage for individuals and small businesses. They could compare prices between private health plans and a new public option similar to Medicare and use a standardized form to enroll in coverage. Some individuals and small businesses would be eligible for subsidies to offset the cost.
Allow people age 55 to 64 to buy in to Medicare immediately instead of having to wait for their 65th birthday to be eligible
Phase out the two-year waiting period that people with disabilities face when applying for Medicare coverage
Require states to make the state children's health insurance program (SCHIP) available to children at or below 250% of the federal poverty level
Require most employers to make coverage available to their workers or pay into a fund
Require drugmakers and medical device companies to disclose the gifts they bestow on doctors and other providers in an effort to root out bias and conflicts of interest
Invest in health information technology and comparative effectiveness research"

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2008/11/the_opening_move.cfm