‘Bipartisan’ US Health Bill Fails To Unify; Diluted Measure Angers Liberal Democrats

[Purveyor]

Source: Financial Times

Centrist Democratic senators introduced their long-awaited “bipartisan” healthcare plan on Wednesday without the public option favoured by President Barack Obama or the support of a single Republican.

The $856bn 10-year bill, which was unveiled by Max Baucus, Democratic chairman of the Senate finance committee, went a long way towards meeting Republican objections after a summer of emotional conservative allegations against healthcare reform.

But Mr Baucus, who had spent months with three leading Republicans trying to hammer out a compromise, was greeted with a unanimous thumbs down. Even Olympia Snowe, the moderate Republican from Maine who seemed most likely to come out in favour, declined to offer a full endorsement.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, said: “This partisan proposal cuts Medicare by nearly a half-trillion dollars, and puts massive new tax burdens on families and small businesses, to create yet another thousand-page, trillion-dollar government programme.”

Mr Baucus was also attacked by liberals on Wednesday for diluting key elements of the bill, both by lowering the cost of the reform from the initial plan of more than $1,000bn and by ditching the controversial “public option”. Mr Baucus’s plan would extend health coverage to 30m Americans.

Read more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6cfd501c-a2d3-11de-ba74-00144feabdc0.html

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"Diluted Measure Angers Liberal Democrats"...

Damn straight it does!!!