Chairman Max Baucus is trying to hold his own party together on the health reform package soon to be considered by the Senate Finance Committee even as the impact on the deficit and taxes make some Democrats question the measure.
NPR reports: "The bill Baucus originally brought to his committee three weeks ago was mostly the product of months-long negotiations between three Democrats on the committee and three Republicans. In order to try to win some of those Republican votes, Baucus made many concessions, some of which made Democrats furious. ... The bill would have eliminated the government's popular Children's Health Insurance Program for many children, instead making them eligible for subsidized private insurance through new insurance exchanges. That didn't sit very well with people such as West Virginia Democrat Jay Rockefeller, who helped create the CHIP program." An amendment to put them back into the program similarly angered many Republicans (Rovner, 10/6).
The New York Times revealed other senators' concerns on the bill, which include: "Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine worries that the bill would require people to buy insurance they cannot afford. Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas fears that the bill would be too costly for the government. And Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon warns that the bill would lock many workers into health plans selected by their employers, without allowing them to shop for better, cheaper plans, an alternative that could help drive down costs for everyone" (Pear and Herszenhorn, 10/6).