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Senators
Baucus, Kennedy offer different visions for
Health Care Reform
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions Committee and the Senate Finance
Committee have adopted different views on
health care reform.
The chairs of each committee, Senators
Ted
Kennedy (D-MA) and
Max Baucus
(D-MT), respectively, are spearheading the
reform, and it is clear how their committees
have shaped their priorities.
Kennedy has advocated a separate government entity, one
that is closely modeled off Medicare, while
Baucus believes this public plan should be
used as a last resort if insurance companies
are unable to provide affordable coverage
within the next few years.
“Private insurers have proved to be inadequate in their
coverage. More often than not, someone who
is in desperate need of care will be turned
away because of pre-existing conditions,”
commented
Edward F.
Coyle,
Executive Director of the Alliance for
Retired Americans. Hospital executives and
doctors appreciate that private insurers can
offer them substantially more money than a
public insurance option.
On Wednesday, Baucus met with single-payer activists, some
of whom were arrested last month for
disrupting Finance Committee health care
hearings.
President Obama
has expressed his support for a public
insurance option, working alongside private
industries, as a way to expand coverage to
all Americans.
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