Committee gets first crack at amending Baucus bill - some details on priorities (Politico)

[jefferson_dem]

Senate jockeying begins on Baucus bill

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The amendments provide a first look at the priorities – and possible breaking points – for the senators.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who is the likeliest Republican vote, proposed a “safety net fallback plan” in which a nonprofit government corporation would offer coverage in any state where affordable coverage was unavailable to 95 percent of residents. She wants to boost the threshold at which insurance plans would be taxed for people over 55, and reduce the penalty for failing to comply with the individual mandate.

Snowe signed onto several amendments with Democrats, including one extending small business tax credits to nonprofits.

Democrats from four of the highest-cost states – Chuck Schumer of New York, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Maria Cantwell of Washington and John Kerry of Massachusetts – proposed a series of changes to the excise tax. They would boost the threshold from $8,000 to $9,800 for an individual and from $21,000 to $25,000 for a family, and raise the tax from 35 percent to 40 percent.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) proposed striking the more than $90 billion in fees on the on insurers, medical device makers, pharmaceuticals and clinical laboratories.

Kerry and Schumer want to establish an employer mandate, which Baucus shunned in favor of requiring companies to defray the costs of providing insurance tax credits to employees who qualify for the assistance.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.), who has been highly critical of the Baucus plan, filed the most amendments. He wants to expand Medicaid to 150 percent of poverty, up from 133 percent; create one national insurance marketplace known as an exchange, rather than a series of state exchanges; and limit the out-of-pocket health care costs for all individuals.

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