Maybe Baucus Bill Is Better Than Nothing

(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»

States have chance to organize their own 'exchanges'

(NEWSER) - Obamacare needs more than the Supreme Court's approval this summer. It also requires states to organize "exchanges" where people can buy health insurance—but 75% of uninsured Americans live in states that are yet to get cracking, the AP reports. Some states, like Florida and Louisiana, have flat-out returned federal dollars for the program as part of GOP opposition to Obamacare. But 16 others are paralyzed by a lack of legislation or partisan bickering. More»

Emotions ran high during health reform debate

(NEWSER) - As the health reform debate reached a fever pitch last year, so too did the threats against lawmakers. The FBI investigated at least 26 threats last year, according to documents obtained by the Hill, a significant upswing from the previous year, and more than any other year on record. Nearly half of those cases came in the weeks surrounding the health care vote in March, with many threats seemingly intent on influencing lawmakers' votes on the bill. More»

Ron Wyden's voucher plan scrapped—though that won't save money

(NEWSER) - Soon after Democrats and Republicans settled on a deal to avoid a government shutdown, Ron Wyden got a call from Harry Reid. “You lost free-choice vouchers,” he said. Translation: Somehow in the budget scuffle, those involved agreed out of the blue to kill a plan Wyden had fought hard for that would allow employees to opt out of their employer-provided health care and buy a plan of their choosing with an employer-financed voucher, the New York Times explains. More»

Tennessee's Bredesen foresees exodus to federally-subsidized insurance

(NEWSER) - If you crunch the numbers, President Obama’s health care plan is a great incentive for employers to stop providing coverage and put their workers in the hands of government-subsidized plans, meaning “much greater cost” for the US, writes Democratic Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen in the Wall Street Journal . Not only would such a move save employers money, it’s also “responsible,” because the subsidies allow workers to buy “excellent, fairly priced insurance.” More»