Rendell nominates ex-chemical exec as state economic chief

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<b>First Posted:</b> 9/29/2009<br><br>RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer
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WASHINGTON (AP) &amp;mdash; Liberals are taking aim at Senate Finance Chairman Max  Baucus as his committee prepares to vote Tuesday on whether the government  should create its own health plan to compete with private insurers.
Offering the middle class the option of a plan like Medicare is a top goal  for liberals. But no Republican lawmakers support it, and moderate Democrats say  the Senate would never go along. Baucus, D-Mont., says his own plan will achieve  the goals liberals are seeking by other, more politically feasible, means.
The Finance showdown is expected to pit Democrat against Democrat. Although  the public plan isn't expected to get a majority of the panel, supporters say at  least they'll know where everybody stands.
Baucus is in the hot seat &amp;mdash; accused by liberals of being lukewarm, if not  downright hostile, to the government option.
Two liberal groups are launching a hard-hitting television and Internet ad  featuring a young father from Montana. Bing Perrine, 26, in need of a heart  operation, uninsured and deeply in debt, looks straight into the camera and asks  Baucus, &amp;quot;Whose side are you on?&amp;quot;
The ad is sponsored by Democracy for America and the Progressive Change  Campaign Committee, who say Baucus is too cozy with insurance and health care  interests that have contributed to his campaigns and oppose the public  option.
&amp;quot;The public option is the only true way we can keep it fair,&amp;quot; Perrine said in  an interview. The insurance industry says it couldn't compete with the  price-setting power of government.
Baucus aide Tyler Matsdorf said the ad falsely implies that Baucus doesn't  care about the plight of people with pre-existing health problems. It's just  that Baucus would address such problems in a different way from what the  liberals want, Matsdorf said.
For example, the Baucus plan would bar private insurers from denying coverage  for pre-existing health problems and create nonprofit co-ops to compete with the  industry. Matsdorf said that would achieve the same result public plan  supporters are seeking and &amp;quot;prevent (Perrine's) situation from ever happening  again.&amp;quot;
Such arguments don't seem to be convincing liberals. Another group, Health  Care for America Now, is circulating a Sept. 23 letter to Baucus from local  Democratic Party leaders in Montana, which is raising more questions from the  left about the senator's position on the public plan. The letter summarizes an  August telephone call between Baucus and the Democratic leaders, and quotes the  senator as saying, &amp;quot;I want a public option, too.&amp;quot;
&amp;quot;We need you to say the same thing in Washington,&amp;quot; the local Democrats  wrote.
Baucus spokesman Matsdorf responded that the senator included a government  option in his original health case blueprint issued last November. Since then,  Baucus has realized that a public plan doesn't have enough support to clear the  Senate. &amp;quot;Health care reform isn't just about what Sen. Baucus wants,&amp;quot; said  Matsdorf. &amp;quot;It is about crafting a bill that can get 60 votes in the Senate.&amp;quot;
Senators will have at least two Democratic alternatives to choose from &amp;mdash; and  maybe a compromise from a moderate Republican who is keeping all her options  open.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is proposing a public plan modeled on  Medicare, in which the government would set what it pays doctors, hospitals and  other medical providers.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is proposing a government plan that looks more  like a private insurance company and negotiates payment rates with  providers.
&amp;quot;Win or lose, it's clear that the strong public interest and support for a  public option will be well represented by the supportive senators,&amp;quot; said Gerald  Shea, a top health care policy expert for the AFL-CIO. &amp;quot;My sense is that our  message about how vital the public plan is to the critically important issue of  cost control is beginning to break through the bubble that has surrounded  Finance for months.&amp;quot;
The wild card in the debate is Sen. , R-Maine. Aides say she's  considering offering a compromise that would use the public option as a threat,  to be deployed only if private insurers fail to keep premiums in check after a  reasonable period of time.
If there's a final bill this year, it's possible that Snowe's idea will be  the one to carry the day.
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On the Net:
Senate Finance Committee: http://finance.senate.gov/


Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

Public plan debate could pit Democrat vs. Democrat