Members of the pivotal Senate Finance Committee have offered 564 amendments
to a broad health care reform
blueprint inked by Sen. Max Baucus and released Wednesday, September 16.
The sheer number and scope of the amendments, though not unexpected, threaten
to strain the demeanor and test the mettle of a committee that has always prided
itself on its ability to be as cordial as it is efficient.
Baucus said he
expects the committee to begin considering the amendments as early as Tuesday,
September 22, though it's unclear how long the process—known as a “mark-up”—will
take.
The amendments have been divided into three categories: those that affect the
delivery system, those that affect the expansion of health coverage, and those
that relate to how the bill will be financed.
Many of the amendments could potentially upset the fragile balance Baucus has
tried to maintain to pick up a handful of needed Republican votes.
Some
amendments would essentially kill the idea of nonprofit “co-op” groups, which
would be developed to help lower insurance costs. Others would increase Medicaid
eligibility, lower the age group for Medicare eligibility, and develop an
employer mandate much stronger than the one already included in a bill.
“Improving the proposed Finance Committee legislation is a critical step in
the legislative process—getting this wrong is not an option,” Sen. Jay
Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) said in a written statement.
To help pay for the amendments, many of the lawmakers suggested funding
mechanisms previously considered by Baucus and a small, bipartisan team of
negotiators, but nonetheless were left on the cutting-room floor.
Rockefeller,
for instance, would use a cap on itemized deductions at 35 percent to pay for
part of his slate of changes.
President Barack Obama has championed such a provision.
Still, others want
money to come from other industry players, such as insurance companies.
Proposals to close corporate tax loopholes are also being considered.
The Senate Finance Committee is made up of 13 Democrats and 10
Republicans.
Filed by Matthew DoBias of Modern
Health Care, a sister publication of Workforce
Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.
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