Breaking: Baucus introducing new plan in effort to undermine public option

[grantcart]

It seems as if "Pain in the end Baucus" is going to attempt to introduce an entirely very complicated plan that would leave private insurance companies in control of the market but add a token fee that would be used to help subsidize lower income purchasers.

It tries to revive medical cooperatives as the faux competitor to keep costs down.

The most pathetic part of the continuing antics of the "Bozo known as Baucus" is that he is doing all of these gymnastics to negotiate with one or two Republican Senators who, we all know, are not going to vote for the bill anyway.

Pathetic, simply pathetic. This guy should be moved to be Chairman of the Committee to Oversee Federal Latrines.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HEALTH_CARE_OVERHAUL?SITE=VAROA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Max Baucus on Monday pushed a new health care plan including an industry fee to help pay for covering the uninsured as President Barack Obama said insurance companies must share accountability for the troubled system. . . . It's unclear whether the fee, designed to create competition in the insurance market, would win support of two key Republicans in the group: Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Mike Enzi of Wyoming. The Baucus proposal reflected many of their priorities, chief among them the decision not to include a government-run plan to compete with private insurers.

. . .

Democratic sources close to the negotiations, who were not authorized to be quoted by name, disclosed the fee and other details of the Baucus proposal. One source said the proposal included suggestions from all six members.

The fee is only a piece of a Baucus plan that would establish a new way to purchase coverage for Americans who have trouble getting and keeping health insurance. Americans could keep their own doctors.

. . .

Under the Baucus, plan health insurance exchanges, with information on different plans and prices, would allow small groups and individuals to buy policies at lower rates. Medicaid would be expanded to cover more low-income people. Nonprofit cooperatives would be established as an alternative to for-profit insurance companies, giving consumers more choices. Tax credits would allow low-and-middle income Americans to buy private coverage.

[opihimoimoi]

1. Baucus is fuckus

[David Zephyr]

2. He doing what his employers paid him to do.

What a bribed politician this sack of shit is.

[Hawkeye-X]

3. Breaking news: Water is wet

Nothin' new.

:snore:

[Justitia]

4. Bzzzzt! Time's up Max - too late! We've already written you off, buh-bye. -eom

[Name removed]

5. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Andy823]

6. Yep

Add a fee on the insurance companies, and then watch them raise premiums on everyone! Great for insurance companies, not so good for those who will be paying more to make up for he fee!

[andym]

12. premiums need to capped on plans they are allowed to offer at the "exchange"

no more "windfall" profits for them

wonder why no one is talking about it. cheap way to real reform:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6488988

[gratuitous]

7. And the punchline isn't all that funny

Even after bending over for his insurance company overlords and their Republican stooges, "It's unclear whether the fee . . . would win support of . . . Grassley and Enzi." So Baucus is willing to abase himself entirely, hand the keys to his office over to thugs and thieves, and they still won't vote for his crappy bill.

[abumbyanyothername]

8. Baucus is marginalizing himself.

He is rapidly becoming irrelevant and Rahm realizes he can't hold the left.

[scheming daemons]

9. I don't think that is his plan...

His plan is to pass SOMETHING in the Senate... knowing that the Public Option will be in the House version that passes.


Then the two bills have to be merged... and the Public Option will be in the final bill that both houses must vote on.


At that point, via reconciliation (hopefully), we get 50 votes in the Senate.

[OHdem10]

10. Small groups and individuals buy at lower prices...You have to

have groups large enough that you can negotiate with the
Insurance Company. Your leverage is the huge pool of buyers.

[grantcart]

11. morning kick

[truebrit71]

13. Time to follow-through on the threat from Reid and remove him from the chairmanship...

...oh wait, neveer mind, that would require Reid to grow his balls back first... :eyes:

[Proud Liberal Dem]

14. Baucus' efforts don't matter in the end.

The Senate bill will undoubtably SUCK balls but IMHO it's what happens in Conference that will be key to what ultimately happens. The important thing to remember at the moment is that we need to get a bill out of the SFC so that it can get to conference. My guess is that such legislation will NOT be acceptable to House Dems and some MAJOR changes will inevitably be made before it leaves conference, so just let Baucus do what he's going to do and let's move forward.

[grantcart]

15. Also we should note that simply because he gets it out of his committee

doesn't mean that the Senate will pass it either.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

23. Exactly- and probably won't

I'm expecting the more Kennedy-esque bill to pass in the Senate, probably with a PO "trigger". Once it gets to Conference, all bets are off but the House Democrats, among which there are more progressives, will help formulate something better IMHO. Maybe not the stars, the moon, and the galaxy but it will at least be something I think Obama can sign and we can take some pride in. And then we can come back next year, the year after next, etc. and work on it some more. If Obama gets to sign anything it will, if anything, create the momentum for further change, which is exactly why the Pubs are working so desperately to defeat even the most conciliatory ideas. Obama (and everybody whom supports reform) will prevail in the end IMHO. The Pubs can only keep our society from evolving for so long and the conditions have never been favorable for another step up the evolutionary ladder.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

17. It appears some house dems are backing down a bit though.

I'm very very worried and nervous about Wednesday.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

20. That's true (per the latest media reports)

However, I honestly don't believe that Baucus' plan- or any iteration thereof- will survive to make it to the President's desk. I'm expecting more of the Kennedy committee's bill (hopefully with a PO) to prevail in the end.

[cascadiance]

16. Can we PLEASE make him one of the top 10 Conservative Idiots this week?!!

I know that Dems aren't put on that list, but I think Baucus is setting so many precedents of DINOism that he deserves to be made a precedent in this case too.

[cascadiance]

19. You remember Bigus Dickus from the Life of Brian? How bout Baucus Caucus!

Or if you want to get to the point, you could spell "Caucus" a little more aggressively than I did!

[fascisthunter]

18. people should protest the man where he lives

and keep doing so until his head explodes.

[Rex]

21. It is simple - no public option, no national health care coverage.

Aww, poor health insurers. Fucking demons.

[mod mom]

22. Take away his chairmanship. He is overtly working AGAINST the values of the Party!

[laughingliberal]

24. Today's email to the White House

Have been reading an article about the bones of the Senate Finance committee's proposal. As I see it there might be some protection in the form of subsidies for people below 300% of the poverty level. In essence they would be limited to paying 13% of their income for premiums. So, as I read that, there is nothing to keep the rest of the working class from having to pay 25% (as we were) or even more for their premiums. Is this true?
I am tired of the argument about the perfect being the enemy of the good. This is about the barely acceptable being the enemy of the disastrous.

[Barack_America]

25. Why should we gut health care reform to win over a couple of backstabbing, disingenuous twits.

Nay.

[thatsrightimirish]

26. zzzzzzzzz

Even Ben Nelson has now acknowledged that a public option is the best way to run down costs.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

27. WTF is Reid? Doesn't Reid have the power to yank Baucus off as chair and off of the committee

itself?

[Faryn Balyncd]

28. The Baucus Plan is NO compromise....It pure, unadulterated EVIL.