Senator to introduce measure to require health insurance for all Americans

Senator to introduce measure to require health insurance for all Americans

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Senator to introduce measure to require health insurance for all Americans
John Byrne
Published: Wednesday November 12, 2008




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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.

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I wonder personally how Republicans will respond to this. Wasn't one of the reasons why Bill Clinton failed to create a health care plan was because Republicans voted against it because they thought the Democrats could hold it against them.

It will be interesting to see if this gets passed. How high do you think this will be on Obama's priority list?

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(visit the link for the full news article)