Health Reform 'Gang of Six' at Death's Door

(NEWSER) - Max Baucus took to the Wall Street Journal opinion page today to make the case for the health care reform bill he’s unveiling this morning. “Our plan would lower costs and would not add to the federal deficit,” he declares in the first of many statements about what he repeatedly calls “our plan,” and at one point calls the Senate Finance Committee plan. There’s just one problem: There seems to be no one beside Baucus behind the bill. More»

'Gang of six' chair will test whether GOP has any interest

(NEWSER) - Democratic Senator Max Baucus said today he will test the waters of bipartisanship in health care reform, the New York Times reports. After a month of angry nationwide debate, the Senate Finance Committee chair plans to present the bipartisan group of six with a formal health proposal as early as tomorrow. Republican members will have to decide whether to debate and rewrite the legislation for presentation on the Senate floor. More»

President moves to engage Republicans

(NEWSER) - In a move to show voters that President Obama works across partisan lines—and to draw attention to Republican policy proposals—the White House is testing the waters of GOP outreach. The president is not only inviting Republicans to bipartisan policy brainstorming sessions as promised in last week's State of the Union address, but also inviting them to watch the Super Bowl at the White House and to visit Camp David, the New York Times reports. More»

She provides crucial Republican support for Obama's overhaul

(AP) - Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe says she will vote for a Democratic health care bill, breaking with her party on President Obama's top legislative priority. The Maine senator kept virtually all of Washington guessing how she would vote until she announced it late in the Senate Finance Committee debate today. "When history calls, history calls," she said, adding that she continued to have reservations. More»

Having KO'd most cuts, they're aiming at Cadillac tax and Medicare commission

(NEWSER) - Who's winning the health care battle? Lobbyists, says the New York Times, who've succeeded in blocking virtually every avenue for cutting health care costs that has been put on the table. They've killed proposals that would pinch doctors, hospitals, insurers and employees who are the beneficiaries of so-called Cadillac health plans. Now they're aiming at the last two measures still standing: a scaled-back Cadillac tax and a nonpartisan Medicare cost-cutting commission. More»