Senate Debates Proposed Health Bill -- Baucus adds new changes

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, opened the debate on healthcare reform with additional changes designed to expand support for working-class families and impose new obligations on the insurance industry. Sen. Baucus announced he was adding $50 billion to draft legislation to help those who would be required to purchase insurance. The changes would expand subsidies for individuals and families with incomes up to four times the government's poverty level ($43,320 for individuals and $88,200 for a family of four) that do not have access to health insurance. The debate and discussion feels like it will be slow with more than three hours of opening statements by both Republicans and Democrats. Committee members offered 564 amendments.

Other key proposed changes include:

• Proposals to increase tax credits for middle-income families that buy health insurance
• Limits to how many people would be subject to a new excise tax on "high-end" health plans so that high risk works like fire fighters are excluded.
• New proposals to expand discounts from the pharmaceutical industry beyond the PhRMA proposed savings.
• Proposals to expand Medicaid vs Medicare Part D for low-income seniors to further reduce costs
• Additional changes that would require PBMs to disclose rebates from drugmakers to clients

Amendments could be voted on as early as this week.