Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is chairman of the influential Senate Finance Committee, a panel on which he has served for 26 years. The committee's jurisdiction includes taxes, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and international trade. The Finance Committee is also responsible for examining all budget and tax plans that come before Congress.
In 2003, Senator Baucus co-wrote and passed major prescription drug and health care legislation to provide prescription drug benefits for millions of seniors. In 2007, he led the Senate in passing landmark, bipartisan legislation to renew and improve the Children's Health Insurance Program, which brings health coverage to children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid, but who cannot afford private health insurance. In 2008, he has dedicated the work of the committee to preparation for comprehensive health reform in 2009, with a major series of hearings and a health reform summit at the Library of Congress on June 16, 2008.
Senator Baucus is known in the U.S. Senate as a moderate who works together with his colleagues to do what's right for Montana and America.
I opened discussion of health care reform more than a year ago and have since held over a dozen hearings on the topic. Last November, I released a white paper and in April and May of this year, Senator Grassley and I held roundtable discussions with health care policy and industry experts. Next came detailed policy options focusing on three main subjects: reducing costs and improving quality in the health care delivery system, expanding health care coverage to all Americans, and financing comprehensive health care reform. With the necessary groundwork in place, we are on a steady path toward mark-up… Read more
Health care reform is my number one priority in the Finance Committee this year, not because we should fix America’s broken system, but because we must. Without health care reform, our economy cannot recover, grow, or remain competitive around the world. Without health care reform, more and more families will continue to be forced to drop coverage or declare bankruptcy in the face of skyrocketing health care costs. We need to act now to address this crisis, and that’s exactly what President Obama did in his budget last week. The President’s budget proposal showed a clear commitment to action… Read more
I released the following statement following the President’s Address on Tuesday: President Obama struck a lot of right notes tonight. He tackled the issues that weigh on our country and threaten the livelihoods of millions of American families. His aggressive stance on economic reforms, his focus on energy independence and education, and particularly his insistence on health care reform this year are all reasons that Americans can feel more hopeful tonight. As Chairman of the Finance Committee, I’ve been working closely together with President Obama and with all of my colleagues to make America’s economy strong again, and now it’s… Read more
I participated in President Obama’s summit on fiscal responsibility on Monday and found many of my colleagues agree that health care reform is the path to fiscal health in this country. In the last eight years, we’ve seen health spending grow from 12 percent to 17 percent of the U.S. economy, but quality needs to be improved, with Americans receiving recommended care only half of the time. In the next ten years, the cost of providing health care for older and vulnerable Americans through Medicare and Medicaid is projected to increase by 114 percent. Health care reform is not only… Read more
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Health reform is not only possible in 2009, it is imperative. Without health care reform, our economy cannot recover, grow, or remain competitive around the world. And without health care reform, costs will continue to grow at a skyrocketing pace, crushing American families and forcing more and more Americans to go without health insurance. This is a trend that cannot continue. According to one estimate, the cost of doing nothing about health care could be as high as $200 billion a year and rising. The same study estimates that, as health… Read more
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides health care coverage for children living in families not poor enough for Medicaid, but still unable to afford private health insurance. Today, nearly seven million children rely on CHIP to get the doctor’s visits and medicines they need to stay well. Renewing this vital program will give more than… Read more
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} The recent news from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that 2007 health care costs grew at the slowest rate in nearly a decade has prompted some to ask if broad health care reform should be a less urgent priority. Emphatically, no. Slower growth of health care costs is certainly a good thing, but rising costs are… Read more
Allowing older workers and disabled Americans to buy into the Medicare program will immediately fill a significant hole in our health care system – through which about four million people age 55 to 64 slipped last year. Declines in employer-sponsored benefits and retiree coverage have made it increasingly difficult for Americans in their 50s and early 60s to get coverage. The individual market – which is often their only option – is increasingly unaffordable or even unavailable to those with pre-existing conditions. Last year, the average premium for people age 60 to 64 was more than $5,000 for single coverage,… Read more
Today, the U.S. spends more than any other country on health care, but we still have 46 million uninsured Americans and rank 19th out of 19 industrialized countries in preventable deaths. Health care costs are crippling our global competitiveness and our current health care spending is unsustainable. Health care reform will require an initial investment, but over time, it will vastly improve our system. My blueprint for health reform focuses this investment on improving quality, increasing access, and lowering costs. It is my intention that after ten years the U.S. will spend no more on health care than is currently… Read more
Related Link: http://finance.senate.gov
