Senator to introduce measure to require health insurance for all Americans

Senate Finance Committee Chairman and Montana's Democratic senator Max Baucus will introduce a sweeping healthcare measure today intended to ensure healthcare coverage for all Americans.

The move is short on financial specifics. But its introduction will immediately move healthcare into the spotlight, putting pressure on President-Elect Barack Obama to bump medical coverage to the top of his priority list. Asked in an interview four days before the election what would be the priorities of his incoming Administration, Obama has named healthcare third after the economic crisis and energy independence.

Baucus' healthcare proposal differs from Obama's in one key respect: he would mandate all Americans to have health insurance. In that respect it is more like Sen. Hillary Clinton's primary proposals.

In addition to mandating coverage, the bill would bar insurance companies from charging higher premiums or denying coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions. The measure enjoins businesses to provide coverage to their employees.

"Under the Baucus plan, most employers would be required to offer insurance to their workers or pay into a fund, with the contribution based on the size of the firm and its annual revenue," the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. "Small employers would get a tax credit if they offer insurance, with the size of the credit based on the size of the company and its earnings."

Source

Wall Street Journal Article

NY Times Description of Proposal

Interesting i wonder how the congress will react to this ... and how obama will react ... i don't really have any thoughts seeing as there's not too many financial aspects described yet....

Senators introduce bills all the time. This is NOT the first time one has submitted a bill to mandate health coverage. None have ever gotten out of committee, much less passed the Senate.

You guys really need to read some history.