A new version of a national health care plan has been put on the table.  Named the Baucus plan for Senator Max Baucus, creator of the plan and Senate Finance Committee Chairman, the plan includes many of the provisions that President Obama has identified as necessary in a complete plan.

“My bill is very, very similar to the framework that the president was talking about when he gave his message the other day. It’s very similar,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., CNN reports.

As it stands now, the plan would cost $856 billion over a 10 year time period.  The funding would come from savings and cuts in other governmental health programs and taxes on companies in the insurance arena.  If the plan correctly falls into place, the national deficit could be reduced through the savings and taxation that would be gained.

One of the major tenets of the Baucus Plan is that everyone in the nation would be required to have health insurance.  Those without insurance would be fined; individuals would be fined $750-$950 and families would be fined $1,500 -$3,800.

The proposed plan would create ‘insurance exchanges’ where consumers could compare prices and plans of many different companies.  Insurance plans must all include basic benefits such as primary care, preventative care, newborn care, maternity care, dental, vision and a prescription plan.  Most will be required to cover 100% of preventative care claims.  There would also be no cap on the amount of benefits a consumer would receive and no one can be denied a plan based on pre-existing conditions.

Lower income households would receive tax credits to offset some of the monetary burden of the premiums.  The exact amount of the credit would be based on income level.  Some are still concerned that these families will still not be able to afford the coverage.  “The plan would require premium contributions from low- and moderate-income individuals and families that are likely to be above what many of them can afford,” said Robert Greenstein, executive director of the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, in a statement.

Our Take

Creating a national health plan is a difficult and risky undertaking.  In the end, not everyone will be completely happy but those who will make the decisions and write the plan should do their best to accommodate as many citizens as possible.