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The Senate Finance Committee Thursday agreed to delay the penalties for people who don't comply with a requirement to have health insurance. Some lawmakers want no penalties at all. But insurers worry that weakening the mandate will mean people will delay getting coverage, it would be more difficult to keep costs down.
The Finance Committee today thwarted efforts by liberal Democrats to include a government-run health insurance option in major health care legislation, as the Senate appears to be dividing into three important camps: those who are solidly behind Chairman Max Baucus, those reluctantly leaning in his direction and a handful of wild cards who will wield great influence. UPDATED
Some analysts are praising Sen. Max Baucus' health overhaul as a good start on a tough task but they worry that key provisions will be weakened during debate.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus unveiled a health care bill today that would require most people to have health insurance and would bar insurance companies from discriminating against people with medical problems.
Video Highlights Of The News Conference | Mary Agnes Carey Discusses What The New Bill Means
Democrats are considering their options for a less ambitious overhaul plan, including a new proposal from Sen. Max Baucus. Meanwhile, President Obama is planning his address to Congress, in which he is expected to propose specific refinements to the current bills.
Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, says that mounting public concern about the federal deficit and government spending could hurt prospects for a bipartisan health care overhaul deal when Congress returns to work next month.
Proposals to move disadvantaged youngsters from the Children's Health Insurance Program to health exchanges raise concerns that benefits would be reduced.
Although some Democratic party stalwarts still urge administration to hold out for a comprehensive health care bill, others say a defeat in Congress could be politically disastrous.
The House Minority Leader suggested that the drug-industry pact with President Obama, whom he called a "bully" - will backfire on industry and consumers. The GOP has its own health bill, which Boehner announced on June 17.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers will offer their constituents very different takes on pending health care legislation during the August recess. Democrats will say the bills will "hold insurance companies accountable" and guarantee lower costs and more choice, while the Republicans will warn against a government takeover that will undermine competition and drive up costs.
An agreement between the House leadership and conservative Democrats sparked protests from states worried about higher Medicaid costs and liberals upset about the paring back of subsidies.
After weeks of painstaking talks, Democrats celebrated breakthroughs on health care overhaul on both sides of the Capitol. Yet many lawmakers and health care experts said that yesterday's events marked only one step on the very bumpy road to a final deal that President Barack Obama might sign into law.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Wednesday that a preliminary Congressional Budget Office score of his panel's draft health care overhaul package would cost under $900 billion over the next decade and provide health coverage to 95 percent of uninsured Americans.
Consumer and patients' groups criticize proposal that would let employers bestow bigger premium discounts on employees who embrace wellness programs.
President Obama and leading Democrats have stressed that people who like their employer-sponsored insurance would be able to keep it, under a health care overhaul. But they haven't emphasized the flip side: That people who don't like their coverage might have to keep it.
Medicaid's role in health reform is emerging as a flash point, exposing policy and political rifts not only between the two parties but also among Democrats themselves.
The Congressional Budget Office took center stage this week when its assessment of a health overhaul plan fueled criticism of its cost. Little known outside of Washington, the CBO is an arbiter of the cost and impact of legislation -- meaning it will continue to play a critical role in the health reform debate. Senate Finance Committee Democrats, meanwhile, vow to re-tool their as-yet-unreleased proposal to make it less costly.
A new analysis of a major Senate health reform bill reports it would cost the government $1 trillion but reduce the number of uninsured by a net of only 16 million. The estimates by the Congressional Budget Office provided Republican critics with fresh ammunition on a day when President Obama was defending his plan before a national audience of doctors.
Small companies, who traditionally have been wary of government action on health care, are more receptive than in the past to legislation that would make changes in health care. But they still have fundamental disagreements over how aggressive the government should be in imposing new rules and revamping the system.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and other Democrats are pursuing a dozen GOP senators they think may vote for a health reform deal. To round up as many as 70 votes for a bipartisan majority, Baucus signaled a willingness to compromise on a key feature sought by President Obama and other Democrats: a government-run insurance plan as consumer option.
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