Chicago Insurance Forum

The Senate committee that has put forth the most recent health care proposal bill is headed by Democratic Senator Baucus of Montana who hopes to finish work on the bill by the weekend. At that time, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat from Nevada, would then join the measure with one done this past summer by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

A hard line television and Internet ad campaign that targets Baucus is being launched by two liberal groups with such features as a young father from Montana. The father is Bing Perrine, aged 26, who is currently in need of a heart operation. He is uninsured and deeply in debt, he looks directly into the camera asking Senator Baucus, "Which side are you on?"

Democracy for America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee are the groups behind the ad. They say Senator Baucus is too close to insurance and health care interests that have been contributing to his past campaigns and that are in opposition with the public option.
In an interview Perrine said that the public option is the only true way to keep things fair. At the same time, the insurance industry is saying that it would be impossible for it to compete with the price-setting powers available to the federal government.

Tyler Matsdorf, who is an aid to Senator Baucus has said that the ad falsely suggests that the senator doesn't care about the situation of people who have pre-existing health problems. Matsdorf says that Baucus would deal with such problems in a manner that is different from what the liberals are seeking.

As an example, the Baucus plan suggests that private insurers should be barred from denying coverage as regards pre-existing health problems and that there should be the creation of nonprofit co-ops that would compete with the industry. According to Matsdorf, this would achieve the exact same result that supporters of the public plan are seeking and would prevent situations such as that of Perrine from ever occurring in the future.

Liberals apparently are not being convinced by such arguments. A second group, Health Care for America Now, is publishing a to Baucus from Montana’s local Democratic Party leaders, which is raises additional questions from liberals with regard to the senator's position in respect to the public plan. The September 23rd letter summarizes a telephone call that occurred in August between Baucus and the Democratic leaders, quoting the senator as saying that he too would like a public option.
The local Democrats wrote that this should also be known in Washington and Baucus needs to say it.

Senate aid Matsdorf responds that the senator has already included a government option in his original health care plan that was issued last November. Baucus meanwhile came to the conclusion that a public plan would not have enough support to get past the Senate. Matsdorf says that health care reform isn't just about what Senator Baucus wants, but that it is about designing a bill that can get the 60 votes necessary to pass in the Senate.