The cacophony of the health care debate, already loud, is likely to become deafening as autumn progresses.
The fate of the various reform proposals is anybody’s guess. But if a bill does pass this year, several measures stand out as most likely to make the final cut.
And many could have a direct bearing on you.
CNNMoney.com consulted a cross-section of leading health care experts to get their take on just what those measures might be.
Their consensus view if a bill passes: Insurers are likely to face new rules about who they have to cover and limits on how much they can charge. Consumers will be able to buy coverage on a new "insurance supermarket." And coverage will be expanded and made more affordable for many.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the specifics.
Putting a tighter leash on insurers
Most of the heart-wrenching stories about the U.S. health care system involve people who need insurance the most but are denied coverage, run out of benefits or simply can’t afford it.
Reform, if it takes place, will attempt to fix that.
"The least controversial part [of the reform debate] and the part that helps everyone are the insurance reforms," said Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health policy think tank.
Insurers would no longer be able to deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions or charge them more because of those conditions.
Insurers may also be denied the right to cancel, or rescind, a policy when a policyholder has kept up with his premiums.
Reform is also likely to prohibit insurers from charging women, particularly of child-bearing age, higher premiums than men, and from setting a cap on annual or lifetime benefits.
And insurers would also be limited in how much more they can charge older policyholders relative to younger ones. Currently "it’s a wide, wide difference," Altman said, noting that a 62-year-old with a family of four and a household income of $89,000 pays an estimated $20,000 a year — or more than 20% of his gross income — for family coverage. The average for family coverage is just north of $13,000.
But should such a reform go through, it is likely that premiums for younger, healthier workers — who typically cost insurers the least — might go up a little, Altman said.
Creating a new insurance marketplace
Today if you end up buying insurance on your own — that is, not through your employer — you have to do all the heavy lifting yourself. You have to comparison shop for the best price and figure out the extent of coverage different policies offer.
Reform would lift some of that burden by creating an insurance exchange, where you could shop for plans in one place online and insurers could compete for your business directly.
Stuart Butler, vice president of domestic and economic policy studies at the conservative Heritage Foundation, characterized the exchange as a kind of "Travelocity" for health insurance.
Any plan on the exchange would have to meet a set of standards in terms of a minimum level of coverage and a minimum level of services covered. And there would be tiers of coverage available above the minimum.
"Who can participate in the exchange differs somewhat among the bills … but likely at least small business and people without access to employer-based coverage or Medicaid," said Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, an independent health care research foundation.
Besides providing better consumer protections for individuals and small businesses that buy policies independently, an exchange could help reduce premiums since it would create a broader pool of customers for insurers, and that can reduce their marketing and administration costs, Davis said.
Expanding coverage, making it more affordable
The experts CNNMoney.com consulted were unanimous that reform would include a set of financial subsides for low- and at least some middle-income families buying plans on the exchange.
"They’re absolutely going to have subsidies. The debate is how big they are and how high up the income ladder they go. The fine-tuning is a very big issue," Altman said.
Broadly speaking, such subsidies will be determined on a sliding scale based on an individual’s income. Also, the amount of the premium owed by people who get subsidies will be capped. That cap will be determined by a formula that defines what percentage of that person’s income may be used to pay for premiums.
In addition, reform is expected to expand and standardize eligibility for Medicaid across states.
Altman, Davis and Edwin Park, senior fellow in health policy at the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, feel confident that there will be a mandate on individuals to buy insurance. But Butler is not so sure.
If there isn’t one, that could change how affordable health insurance is since the cost-effectiveness of various reform measures is based on a mandate being in place.
Currently, the three leading bills under consideration propose an individual mandate. But even its supporters don’t yet agree on what type of insurance a person should be mandated to get, what the penalty should be if he doesn’t, and who should be exempt from the requirement, Park said.
Talkback: What is your biggest complaint against health insurers? E-mail your comments and experiences to realstories@cnnmoney.com and you could be part of an upcoming article. For the CNNMoney.com Comment Policy, click here.
The Ontario government is in advanced negotiations with South Korean industrial and electronics powerhouse Samsung Group about manufacturing wind turbines and other green-energy gear – including solar panels – in the province.
Samsung is considering a multibillion-dollar investment that would stimulate the creation of several hundred direct jobs and, indirectly, potentially thousands more. The province, lead by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, has been in talks with Samsung subsidiary Samsung C&T Corp. for the past year, the Star has learned.
Energy Minister George Smitherman confirmed in an interview with the Star that serious discussions are ongoing and proceeding well toward the signing of what he called a "historic framework agreement."
"They’re looking to get into the renewable-energy business in a big way, and Ontario seems suited to their ambitions," said Smitherman.
"If it comes to fruition, it would see them invest several billions of dollars and have the prospect of creating hundreds and hundreds of jobs in manufacturing at the same time."
That would be a coup for a province that has suffered a steep decline in manufacturing, particularly in the hard-hit auto sector, and the loss of thousands of jobs.
It also represents an early sign that Ontario’s new Green Energy and Economy Act, designed to stimulate the development of renewable-energy projects, is attracting the foreign investment and "green-collar" jobs promised by Premier Dalton McGuinty.
It’s not known what negotiations Samsung may be having with U.S. jurisdictions competing for jobs.
The company revealed in April that it planned to enter the wind-turbine market through subsidiary Samsung Heavy Industries. At the time it said it planned to manufacture 200 wind turbines in 2010, growing to 500 units annually by 2015, and was on the hunt for a U.S. state to lay roots.
Earlier this month, Samsung Electronics Co. disclosed it had completed its first prototype production line for manufacturing solar cells and planned to become the world’s leading provider of solar power by 2015.
Smitherman said Samsung’s first interest in Ontario is as a developer of wind farms, potentially in partnership with aboriginal communities.
Under the province’s new feed-in tariff program, which began Thursday, developers of wind turbines can earn a generous 13.5 cents for each kilowatt-hour of electricity they sell back to the province – about double what consumers pay right now.
Samsung officials visited Crown land this summer in South Cayuga, Haldimand County, about two hours southwest of Toronto. They met with Six Nations Chief William Montour to talk about a plan to build a 55-turbine wind farm, and using aboriginal workers to help manufacture and erect the turbines.
Smitherman said Samsung, as a developer, will get the same rate as every other developer taking part in the program. But if the company commits to manufacturing its equipment in Ontario, it will get what he called an "economic adder" on top of the 13.5 cents rate. He wouldn’t say how much that benefit might be.
The Group of 20 rich and developing economies, fresh from a triumphant show of unity at Pittsburgh, faces months of deal-making and communication to markets that will test its credibility as the premier global forum for economic cooperation.
“It worked,” G20 leaders declared on Friday of their response to the global financial crisis. “Our forceful response helped stop the dangerous, sharp decline in global activity and stabilize financial markets,” they said in the final summit communique.
The summit host, U.S. President Barack Obama, called the gathering a success for a commitment to global economic growth that is “balanced and sustained” and cited in particular a deal to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.
“I am proud that the G20 nations agreed to phase out $300 billion worth of fossil fuel subsidies. This will increase our energy security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, combat the threat of climate change, and help create the new jobs and industries of the future,” he said on Saturday in his weekly radio and Web address.
The leaders agreed that their summits would supplant those of the Group of Seven nations as the high table of global policy making, promising to give rising powers such as China more say in rebuilding and guiding the world economy.
While G7 states were right to accept the inevitable dilution of global economic power caused by the rapid industrialization of poorer countries, analysts said the size and diversity of the group would probably complicate policy coordination.
“There are a lot of cooks in the kitchen … I would wait until we declare victory,” said Simon Johnson, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund cash advance no faxing. “They have to prove their value and legitimacy.”
Challenges to the group’s new mantle lie everywhere, from inertia on climate change to skepticism in global financial markets.
G20 nations will remain in the spotlight at the IMF meetings in Istanbul next month, a G20 finance ministers meeting in Scotland in November and the U.N. climate change talks in December.
DISAGREEMENT
Markets were unlikely to react to the support in Pittsburgh for a U.S.-led push to reshape the global economy by smoothing out huge surpluses in exporting powerhouses such as China and large deficits in big importers such as the United States.
“Any indication of unity will move the dollar,” Christopher Low, chief economist, FTN Financial in New York. “But disagreement will rule and that should result in no market reaction.”
G20 leaders agreed to work together to assess how domestic policies mesh and to evaluate whether they were “collectively consistent with more sustainable and balanced growth.”
Countries with sustained, significant surpluses — a description that fits China — pledged to strengthen domestic sources of growth, according to the communique. By the same token, countries with big deficits — such as the United States — pledged to support private savings.
The leaders agreed to shift some voting rights at the IMF to under-represented countries such as China from rich ones, another sign of the changing balance of economic power accelerated by the financial crisis.
Treasurys mostly rose Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced plans to hold interest rates steady and the market absorbed an auction of $40 billion in U.S. debt.
The Fed said in a policy statement that it sees signs that economic activity has "picked up" but warned that high unemployment could dampen the recovery.
The central bank said it would "gradually slow" its purchases of $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and $200 billion worth of federal agency debt by extending the program by three months.
The program, which was originally expected to finish at the end of the year, will be completed in the first quarter of 2010, the Fed said. The agency also reiterated its plan to wind down a plan to buy $300 billion worth of Treasurys in October.
As expected, the Fed left its benchmark interest rate unchanged near zero percent and stated that rates will remain at "exceptionally low levels" for an "extended period" of time.
Given the challenges facing the economy, the Fed said it anticipates inflation to remain "subdued for some time."
"The statement was pretty much as expected," said Steve Van Order, a fixed income strategist at Calvert Funds, adding that the market is now gearing up for another big auction on Thursday.
Earlier Wednesday, the government sold $40 billion worth of 5-year notes in the second of three auctions this week that total a record $112 billion.
The U.S. received nearly $96 billion worth of bids at Wednesday’s auction — 2.4 times the amount that was up for sale. That brought the bid-to-cover ratio down from 2.51 in August, when 5-year notes were last auctioned. Indirect bidders, including foreign central banks, bought 44.5% of the notes sold on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the government drew strong demand at its sale of $43 billion in 2-year notes. On Thursday, it will auction $29 billion worth of 7-year notes.
Bond prices: The benchmark 10-year note was up 7/32 to 101 22/32, and its yield fell to 3.41% from 3.45% late Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The expiring 5-year note rose 7/32 to 100 and its yield fell to 2.37%. At Wednesday’s auction, the new 5-year note that will be quoted starting Thursday was priced at 99-18/32 and its median yield was 2.39%.
The 30-year bond rose 1/32 to 105-5/32, and its yield eased to 4.19%.
The 2-year note fell less than 1/32 in price to 99-2/32. Its yield rose to 1% from a median yield of 0.99% at Tuesday’s auction.
The yield on the 3-month bill 1%.
Recession-weary Americans aren’t gambling the way they used to — and that could be a problem for many U.S. states already struggling with record budget gaps due to the weak economy.
State revenues from all sources of authorized gambling fell 2.8% in fiscal 2009, according to a report from the Rockefeller Institute of Government released Monday. It was the first decline in data going back at least 20 years.
"It’s not a huge decline, but it’s sobering," said Mark Marchand, director of communications for the Rockefeller Institute.
Lottery income, the largest source of state gambling revenues, fell 2.6%. It was the first annual drop in lottery revenue going back to 1970, according to the group.
Income from casinos fell 8.5%, while revenue from pari-mutuel wagering, which includes dog and horse racing, sank nearly 15%.
However, revenue from race tracks that also host electronic gambling machines such as slot-machines, or "racinos," increased by 6.7%, largely because of new racinos opening in Indiana and Pennsylvania, the report said.
Lucy Dadayan, a Rockefeller Institute senior analyst, said the decline in gambling revenue is a red flag for states planning to expand gambling activities to help pay for social services.
"Expenditures on education and other programs will generally grow more rapidly than gambling revenue over time," Dadayan said in a a statement. "Thus, new gambling operations that are intended to pay for normal increases in general state spending may add to, rather than ease, long-term budget imbalances."
Over the past year, the report said 25 states have proposed or considered expanding gambling activities, according to the report.
The decline in gambling revenues comes as the U.S. economy struggles to recover from one of the longest recessions on record. The report said the drop in gambling revenue was "likely influenced by the current economic downturn."
Of the 41 states with major gambling revenue, 28 states reported declines over the year, with 14 states reporting decreases of more than 5%, according to the report.
However, the study did not include income from Native American casinos, which are active in 32 states, because comprehensive data were not available.
Twelve states showed growth in revenue collections from the major sources of gambling.
While the report said gambling revenue plays a "relatively small" role in state budgets, this year’s drop comes after several years of sustained growth.
Overall gambling revenues increase by 60% over the previous decade, from $15 billion in fiscal year 1998 to $24 billion in fiscal year 2008, according to the report.
During that same period, state revenues from gambling activities amounted to no less than 2.1% and no more than 2.5% of state-generated general revenues.
Regulators closed subsidiaries of Irwin Financial Corporation in Kentucky and Indiana Friday, bringing the total number of bank failures this year to 94, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Customers of the bank, however, are protected. The FDIC, which has insured bank deposits since the Great Depression, currently covers customer accounts up to $250,000.
Irwin Union Bank and Trust Company and Irwin Union Bank, F.S.B. operated a combined 27 branches in nine U.S. states. Both banks were run by Columbus, Ind.-based Irwin Financial Corp.
First Financial Bank, NA, which is based in Hamilton, Ohio, will assume all of the deposits of the two banks.
"Since all deposits are being assumed by First Financial Bank, there will be no losses to any depositor," Claude Davis, president and chief executive officer of First Financial, said in a statement.
Irwin Union B&T, of Columbus, Ind., had total assets of $2.7 billion and total deposits of approximately $2.1 billion. Irwin Union, F.S.B., of Louisville, Ky., had total assets of $493 million and total deposits of approximately $441 million.
On Thursday the banks’ parent company, Irwin Financial Corp., said in a regulatory filing that it had "no realistic prospect of achieving the required capital levels," required by its regulators.
The FDIC said customers of the failed banks will be able to access their money over the weekend by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks will continue to be processed, and borrowers should make their payments as usual.
A total of 94 banks have failed so far this year, with an average of about 10 per month. That’s nearly four times the number of banks that failed in 2008, and it’s the highest tally since 1992, when 181 banks failed.
This year’s failures have reduced the FDIC’s insurance fund to $10.4 billion from $45 billion a year ago. However, the agency has said it has $42 billion available for bank rescues over the next 12 months.
The cost of Friday’s closures to the FDIC is an estimated $850 million.
Earlier Friday, FDIC chairman Sheila Bair said bank regulators will meet at the end of the month to discuss ways to replenish the agency’s funds, including the possibility of borrowing from the U.S. Treasury.
Bair also said the FDIC could use some lesser-known methods to raise money, such as requiring banks to prepay assessments or issuing a note.
Wall Street stretched to new one-year highs Friday as investors weighed economic optimism with jitters about the pace of the rally amid the "quadruple witching," a big quarterly options expiration.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 36 points, or 0.4%. The blue-chip average closed at its highest point since Oct. 6, 2008.
The S&P 500 (SPX) index rose about 3 points, or 0.3% and closed just shy of a fresh almost one-year high.
The Nasdaq composite (COMP) added 6 points, or 0.3% and closed just shy of a one-year high.
The major indexes have now risen in 9 of the last 11 sessions.
But trading was choppy Friday due to the quadruple options expiration, a quarterly event when stock index futures and options and individual stock futures and options all expire at the same time. By the afternoon, attendance was light, due to the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.
Stocks ended just below unchanged Thursday after closing Wednesday’s session at the highest point in nearly a year. Since bottoming at a 12-year low March 9, the S&P 500 has gained 58% and the Dow has gained 50%. Since bottoming at a six-year low, the Nasdaq has gained 68%.
Stocks have risen during those 6-1/2 months thanks to slowly improving economic news and extraordinary amounts of fiscal and monetary stimulus.
But consumer sentiment is still well below what it should be and that’s creating some hesitation for investors, said Kelli Hill, portfolio manager at Ashfield Capital Partners. "The issue now is, what is it going to take for consumers to get back in and spend," she said.
Stocks have avoided the much-discussed September selloff, but Hill said it may have just been postponed until October, when the third-quarter profit reports start arriving. "Expectations for a broad earnings recovery could prove disappointing and that could create more volatility."
Economy: Michigan, Nevada and three other states posted unemployment rates above 12% in August, according to government data released Friday.
The report came one day after the Labor Department reported a surprise drop in weekly unemployment claims. Earlier this month, the government said employers cut 216,000 jobs from their payrolls in August.
On the move: Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500) rallied 3.2% and was among the Dow’s biggest gainers after Citigroup upgraded it to "buy" from "hold."
Other Dow gainers included components Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500), Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500), Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500), Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500) and AT&T (T, Fortune 500) insurance quotes.
Palm (PALM) said late Thursday that smartphone sales surged 134% to 823,000 last quarter, thanks to sales of its Pre phone. However, the company still reported a steep quarterly loss, its 9th consecutive decline. Shares fell 3%.
Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers by nearly three to two on volume of 2.27 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers narrowly topped losers on volume of 3.2 billion shares.
Flash trading: The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed banning so-called flash orders Thursday, a trading practice that critics say gives market pros an unfair advantage over individual investors.
Flash orders allow certain traders to see orders to buy and sell stocks and other securities a split second before the rest of Wall Street, giving them advance knowledge about the direction of a market or a security. Flash orders make up less than 3% of stock trading.
Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Ted Kaufman, D-Del., have led the legislative push. But supporters worry that the government will also begin a crackdown on other kinds of trading practices that can help move the market along.
Nasdaq OMX Group, which runs the Nasdaq Stock Market and the BATS exchange stopped using flash orders as of Sept. 1. The New York Stock Exchange, owned by NYSE Euronext, has never used them. Currently, Direct Edge makes use of them.
Regulators are also looking at new limits on the credit ratings industry, dominated by Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s.
Currency and commodities: The dollar gained against the yen and euro after sliding for most of the last two weeks. The dollar hit a 9-month low against the euro and a 7-month low against the yen earlier this week.
The falling greenback has been lifting dollar-traded commodities lately, but the reversal Friday had little impact on the price of oil or gold.
U.S. light crude oil for October delivery fell 43 cents to settle at $72.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. COMEX gold for December delivery fell $3.20 to settle at $1,010.30 an ounce. Gold settled Wednesday at a record high of $1,020.20.
Bonds: Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.45% from 3.39% Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
World markets: Global markets were mixed. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 ended higher, but France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX all slipped. Asian markets ended lower.
NEW YORK — Coming off its worst year in three decades, the market for initial public offerings is starting to show signs of life.
Eight companies are looking to raise as much as $3.7 billion when they go public this week, the most activity the U.S. IPO market has seen in a single week in nearly two years and a clear sign that Wall Street’s appetite for risk is returning.
IPOs all but dried up in 2008 as investors shunned the traditionally risky bets and moved into safer assets like cash and Treasurys as the stock market tumbled.
Only 43 companies completed IPOs in the U.S. last year, down from 272 the year before and 221 in 2006, according to Renaissance Capital’s IPOHome.com. It was the slowest year for IPOs since 1978.
The IPO market has trudged along so far this year, with 22 companies raising $5 billion in capital. This week’s heavy load of offerings could mark a turning point in the market — if all goes well no teletrack payday loans.
"The IPO market has windows that open and close, and right now the window is open to get deals done," said Sal Morreale, an institutional salesman with Cantor Fitzgerald in Los Angeles.
The number of companies preparing to go public has been gaining pace since early July. There are now 89 companies in the IPO pipeline, up from 29 in March.
A123 Systems — Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance — Artio Global Investors — Foursquare Capital — Colony Financial — Select Medical Holdings — Shanda Games Ltd. — Vitacost.com
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment insurance fell last week, while ongoing claims jumped, the government said Thursday.
There were 545,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Sept. 12, down 12,000 from a revised 557,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said in a weekly report.
A consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 557,000 new claims.
The 4-week moving average of initial claims was 563,000, down 8,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 571,750.
"This looks good with claims down by 31,000 over the past four weeks, but the late Labor Day could well have distorted the latest data," wrote economist Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics in a research note.
"We need to see what happens over the next couple of weeks before we can be sure whether a downward trend is really in place," Shepherdson said.
Continuing claims: The government said 6,230,000 people filed continuing claims in the week ended Sept. 5, the most recent data available. That’s up 129,000 from the preceding week’s revised 6,101,000 claims.
The 4-week moving average for ongoing claims fell by 5,500 to 6,180,250, down from the prior week’s revised average of 6,185,750.
The initial claims number identifies those filing for their first week of unemployment benefits. Continuing claims reflect people filing each week after their initial claim until the end of their standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks.
The figures do not include those who have moved to state or federal extensions, nor people whose benefits have expired.
State-by-state data: A total of three states reported a decline in initial claims of more than 1,000 for the week ended Sept. 5, the most recent data available.
Claims in California fell the most, by 2,751, which a state-supplied comment said was due to fewer layoffs in the trade and services industries.
Six states said that claims increased by more than 1,000. Washington reported the most new claims at 2,620, which a state-supplied comment said was due to layoffs in the construction, service, public administration and manufacturing industries.
Outlook. Shepherdson said claims should continue to fall in the coming weeks as the economy expands and the pace of layoffs slows to reconcile with current GDP growth.
"Companies are profoundly skeptical about the sustainability of the upturn, but unless they believe the economy is about to suffer a serious broad relapse, we think they will have to reduce the rate of job losses," Shepherdson said.
Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, unveiled a summary of his long-awaited health plan Wednesday, setting the stage for a legislative showdown on President Obama’s top domestic priority.
(Read Baucus health plan.)
The bill would cost $856 billion over 10 years and mandate insurance coverage for every American.
Baucus, a Montana Democrat, claimed the bill — released with no Republican support — would not add to the federal deficit.
The measure drops the public health insurance option favored by Obama and many Democratic leaders, according to the summary. As expected, the plan instead calls for the creation of nonprofit health care cooperatives.
As with other proposals, the bill would bar insurance companies from dropping a policyholder in the event of illness if that person had paid his or her premium in full. It would add new protections for people with pre-existing conditions and establish tax credits to help low- and middle-income families purchase insurance coverage.
Insurance companies also would be barred from imposing annual caps or lifetime limits on coverage. Individuals, however, would be fined up to $950 annually for failing to obtain coverage; families could be fined as much as $3,800.
The plan would create health insurance exchanges to make it easier for small groups and individuals to buy insurance.
"The cost of America’s broken health care system has stretched families, businesses and the economy too far for too long. For too many, quality, affordable health care is simply out of reach," Baucus said in a written statement.
"This is a unique moment in history where we can finally reach an objective so many of us have sought for so long."
The Republican Senate leadership ripped the proposal, arguing it would impose unreasonable new tax burdens while cutting vital government programs.
"This partisan proposal cuts Medicare by nearly a half-trillion dollars, and puts massive new tax burdens on families and small businesses, to create yet another thousand-page, trillion-dollar government program," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
"Only in Washington would anyone think that makes sense, especially in this economy personal loans for people with bad credit."
The Senate Finance Committee is the last of five congressional committees needed to approve health care proposals before the topic can be taken up by both the full Senate and the full House of Representatives.
Various forms of the legislation proposed by Democrats have already cleared three House committees, as well as the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Baucus has led months of negotiations with five other Finance Committee members — three Republicans and two Democrats — on what has generally been considered to be the only proposal capable of winning bipartisan support in Congress.
But on Tuesday afternoon, hopes for a bipartisan consensus on Baucus’ bill appeared to wane. GOP senators Olympia Snowe of Maine, Charles Grassley of Iowa, and Mike Enzi of Wyoming — the three Republicans involved in the "Gang of Six" committee negotiations — all still had concerns that had not been sufficiently addressed, Snowe, Grassley and other Republican sources indicated.
The three Republicans did not say, however, that they would not ultimately support the compromise measure. Republican sources close to the senators stressed that they intend to keep negotiating and plan to offer amendments once Baucus introduces the measure.
On Wednesday morning, however, Baucus said he was optimistic that the bill will ultimately win Republican votes.
"I think when we finally vote on the bill … there will be Republican support," Baucus told reporters on Capitol Hill.
"They’ll become a little more familiar with it" in the days ahead, he said, and have several opportunities to offer amendments during the full committee’s consideration of the bill.
Indicating the potential for formation of a Democratic consensus around the bill, Baucus also noted that it is "very similar" to the framework laid out by Obama during the president’s speech to Congress last week.
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