Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) comes out with a health care reform white paper

[KamaAina]

not a whole lot new here: the Medical Insurance Exchange from candidate Obama's plan, a "responsibility" to purchase health care ("mandate" is such a harsh word) from Hillary's.

http://baucus.senate.gov/newsroom/details.cfm?id=304933

Ensuring Health Coverage for All Americans. The Baucus plan would ensure that every individual can access affordable coverage by creating a nationwide insurance pool called the Health Insurance Exchange. Those who already have health coverage could keep what they have. But for those who need affordable, guaranteed coverage, the Exchange would be a marketplace where Americans could easily compare and purchase the plans of their choice. Private insurers offering coverage through the Exchange would be precluded from discrimination based on pre-existing conditions. Premium subsidies would be available to qualifying families and small businesses. By making health care more affordable and universally available to all Americans, the Baucus plan would take a major step toward eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities.

While the Exchange is being created, the Baucus plan would make health care coverage immediately available to Americans aged 55 to 64 through a Medicare buy-in, and it would begin to phase-out the current two-year waiting period for Medicare coverage for individuals with disabilities. The plan would provide every American living below the poverty level with access to Medicaid. This policy is consistent with the original intent of Medicaid, and it is the quickest and most cost-effective way to cover every American living in poverty. The Baucus plan would also ensure that all states use the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover children at or below 250 percent of the Federal poverty level, putting help within reach for more needy children. Finally, recognizing that America cannot keep its promise to provide care to Native Americans and Alaska Natives with the current level of Indian Health Service (IHS) funding, the Baucus plan calls for additional funding for IHS.

Once affordable, high-quality, and meaningful health insurance options are available to all Americans through their employers or through the Exchange, individuals would have a responsibility to have health coverage. This step is necessary for insurance market reforms to function properly and to end the cost shifting that occurs within the system. It is expected that the vast majority of American employers would continue to provide coverage as a competitive benefit to attract employees. Except for small firms, employers that choose otherwise must contribute to a fund that would help cover those who remain uninsured.

"It is expected that the vast majority of American employers..." Humph. Some of the largest ones *cough*Wal-Mart*cough* either try to keep their employees' hours below the threshold for mandated coverage, or else offer a shell of a plan that doesn't cover much more than catastrophic illness, injury, and hospitalization.