US: 'Bipartisan' US health bill wins no Republican support
Thu Sep 17 02:42:16 EST 2009
Wed Sep 16 16:42:16 UTC 2009
WASHINGTON, Sept 16 AFP - After three months of bipartisan talks, Democratic senator Max Baucus unveiled Tuesday a plan for an $US856 billion ($A991.95 billion) overhaul of US health care but his proposals won no Republican support.
Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has been leading a panel of three Democrats and three Republicans in search of a bipartisan compromise on President Barack Obama's health reforms that have divided America.
Despite conceding on the key issue of a "public option," his plan failed to garner any immediate support from the other side of the aisle and the lead Republican senator in the negotiations said he would not support it.
"The Finance Committee has carefully worked through the details of health care reform to ensure this package works for patients, for health care providers and for our economy," Baucus said in a statement.
"We worked to build a balanced, common-sense package that ensures quality, affordable coverage and doesn't add a dime to the deficit. Now, we can finally pass legislation that will rein in health care costs and deliver quality, affordable care to the American people."
His 10-year plan did not include a "public option," a taxpayer-funded alternative to private heath care insurance that is a key wish of liberal Democrats but hated by big government-fearing conservatives.
His key proposals mirrored many of those already outlined by Obama: Americans would be required to purchase health care or face a fine if they do not; insurance companies would be barred from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions.
The lead Republican on the Senate panel, Charles Grassley, accused the Democratic leadership of ignoring his concerns and trying to rush through a bill that was unsatisfactory.
"I'm disappointed because it looks like we're being pushed aside by the Democratic leadership so the Senate can move forward on a bill that, up to this point, does not meet the shared goals for affordable, accessible health coverage that we set forth when this process began."
Grassley applauded the efforts of Baucus but said he could not support his proposals as several "outstanding issues" still needed to be resolved.
A radical overhaul of America's health care system to cut out waste in the $US2.2 trillion ($A2.55 trillion) system and insure some 47 million people who go without coverage is Obama's top domestic policy goal.
Obama has vowed to pass health care legislation by the end of the year despite opposition from some Republicans who he has accused of trying to kill of the reforms in a bid to cripple his eight-month-old presidency.
