Horse-Trading Just Beginning on Senate Health Reform Bill

2 years ago

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Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) may have brought Congress closer than it ever has been to passing a comprehensive reform, and his plan is likely to be the template for the final bill. But the list of unresolved issues is long and complex, with a final committee vote not expected until next week.

Yet even before the vote, the process of overhauling the nation's $2.5 trillion health care system has already begun to move to the discreet backrooms of the Capitol, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will begin huddling next week with other top Democrats to meld two competing Senate bills.

For all the build-up to the Baucus markup, many senators decided to hold their fire in the conservative-leaning Finance Committee. They kept their favored amendments out of the fray in hopes they'd have a better chance when the bills are merged, or on the floor of the Senate, or even in the House-Senate conference.

Baucus Bill May be Far From the Final Word [Politico]

Filed Under: Senate, Health Care

Tagged: Daily Guidance, DailyGuidance

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