Gang Signals

Over the weekend, Sen. Max Baucus (D., Mont.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, circulated a compromise health-care reform bill to senators Mike Enzi, Chuck Grassley, and Olympia Snowe, his Republican colleagues and fellow ‘Gang of Six’ negotiators. Today, the group will meet to discuss the proposal in Washington. A potential bipartisan deal, says the Washington Post, is far from guaranteed:

One area of dispute the group will attempt to resolve Tuesday is where to set the federal subsidy cap for uninsured families. Baucus has proposed 300 percent of the federal poverty level, the equivalent of about $66,000 per year for a family of four. But some other members of the group — including moderate GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) — want to push the level to 400 percent, or about $88,000 per year for a family of four. The lawmakers may compromise at 350 percent, said one individual familiar with the talks. The higher threshold would increase the bill’s cost.

Other details about the Baucus offer began to emerge on Monday. It is reported to cost under $900 billion and include provisions for nonprofit health-care cooperatives. It does not appear, however, to include a public insurance option or a mandate for employers to provide coverage. More about the development of this compromise plan can be found via Kaiser Health News here, or the Washington Times, CNN, and the New York Times, which notes:

The plan, circulating among some committee members of both parties, would also offer the option of lower-cost insurance, with protection only against the costs of catastrophic illnesses, to those 25 and younger. In addition, it would provide basic Medicaid coverage to millions of low-income people who are currently ineligible for the program, but the benefits would be less comprehensive than standard Medicaid.

Mr. Baucus, Democrat of Montana, will try on Tuesday to win support from the three Republicans and two other Democrats on his committee with whom he has been deliberating for months. Ultimately, however, he will need a majority of the committee’s 23 members, several of whom are resentful at being excluded.

Mr. Obama plans to meet Tuesday at the White House with the top Democrats in Congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid, to coordinate strategy.

From the left, The New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn says, “The proposal is not good as it could be, at least relative to what the other committees have produced. But it’s certainly not as bad as it could be, given expectations and the demands Republicans have been making. Rather than gut the proposal in order to keep the price tag down, Baucus has kept most of the basic structure and offered financial assistance that’s close to — if not equal to — what the other committees have offered. As a result, the bill will require between $800 and $900 billion in outlays over ten years rather than, say, between $600 and $700 billion — as some recently circulated language suggested.” HuffPo is also wary. Derek Thompson over at The Atlantic says “BaucusCare should worry Democrats.”

Earlier today, smoke signals from the gang began to emerge. Senator Grassley said chances for bipartisan reform are “up in the air.” He also went CNN this morning, where he embraced nonprofit cooperatives.

Below, via Politico, is the supposed gist of Baucus offer:

– Costs less than $900 billion

– Levies new fees on insurers

– Creates a network of consumer-owned insurance cooperatives

– Does not include a public insurance option

– Does not include a mandate on employers to provide coverage

– Outlines a “free-rider” provision in which employers would contribute to the cost of providing government subsidies for employees who purchase coverage in a government-organized insurance marketplace known as an exchange

– Potentially includes a tax on insurance companies that provide expensive coverage plans

– Potentially includes a new fee on insurance companies to help pay for the plan, based on market share, with the hope of raising $6 billion a year starting in 2010