From NAHU.org News
Bloomberg News (9/15, Jensen, Litvan) reports Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) “is making one last attempt this week to win Republican support before he joins Democrats in a party-line effort to overhaul the US healthcare system.” While Baucus “said President Barack Obama’s Sept. 9 speech to Congress ‘breathed new life’ into negotiations for a bipartisan compromise, the Montana Democrat vowed to present draft legislation with or without Republican votes after struggling for months to reach a deal.” Baucus said “he probably will introduce a bill on Sept. 16 and that he expects bipartisan talks to continue after that.”
The Washington Post (9/15, Montgomery, Murray) reports that Baucus “said Monday that he will propose an overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system that addresses a host of GOP concerns, including blocking illegal immigrants from gaining access to subsidized insurance, urging limits on medical malpractice lawsuits, and banning federal subsidies for abortion.” But even after Baucus “spoke optimistically of gaining bipartisan backing, lawmakers continued to haggle over a question at the heart of the debate: How can the government force people to buy insurance without imposing a huge new financial burden on millions of middle-class Americans?” Even “within his own party, Baucus confronted a fresh wave of concern about affordability.”
The New York Times (9/15, A23, Pear, Herszenhorn) reports that two of the three Republicans in the “Gang of Six” have “requested numerous major changes in a proposal drafted” by Chairman Baucus, “reducing the chances that he can win their support.” Republican Sens. Michael Enzi (WY) and Charles Grassley (IA) “have catalogued their concerns in documents sent to” Baucus. Many governors “in both parties still have deep concerns about a provision that would require states to pay some of the cost of covering millions of additional low-income people under Medicaid. And Mr. Enzi indicated that he shared their concerns.” Enzi and Grassley “also told Mr. Baucus that health legislation must include language affirmatively prohibiting the use of federal money to pay for abortion.”
The Wall Street Journal (9/15, A5, Hitt, Weisman, subscription required), The Hill (9/15, Young), and the Washington Times (9/15, Haberkorn) also cover the story.
Obama sees progress in Senate on healthcare bill. Bloomberg News (9/15, Goldman, Jensen) reports President Obama “said he sees progress in the Senate Finance Committee for his bid to overhaul the US healthcare system and will work with Congress to get it done.” In an interview, Obama said, “There are going to be times where we need to walk Congress through some difficult areas. I will be happy to use my office and my own time and energy anywhere that’s appropriate in order to get this thing done.”
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