Baucus urges sizeable changes to health bill

WASHINGTON -- A Democratic senator who is leading the effort to change the nation's health care system proposed significant alterations to his bill Tuesday in an effort to woo skeptical lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

The changes, proposed by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., would increase the size of tax credits to help middle-income families buy health insurance and would reduce to $1,900 from $3,800 the maximum penalty on people who don't purchase some level of insurance by 2013.

The modifications came as the Senate Finance Committee began debate Tuesday on the proposal, which would cost $774 billion over 10 years, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office — less than all the other versions of health care legislation pending in Congress.

"Last week, I put out my proposal. But I don't pretend that it's the last word," Baucus said as the committee started work on a proposal after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations failed to produce a bipartisan agreement.

In all, senators on the finance committee offered more than 560 amendments to the bill. Baucus agreed to 100 of those amendments Tuesday — including a handful from Republicans — before debate got underway.

Still, Republicans on the committee said they continue to have serious reservations about the scope of the bill.

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., called it a "stunning assault on our liberty," and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said the legislation amounted to "giving Washington a whole new checkbook."

Baucus has said he expects to vote on the measure by the end of the week, but Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, cautioned against moving too quickly. Snowe, who praised many provisions, has been courted by the White House as one of the few Republicans who could support health care legislation this year.

"We are far from the finish line," Snowe said. "There are many miles in this journey."

Among the changes Baucus agreed to Tuesday:

• Low- and middle-income families would receive slightly larger tax credits to help pay for the cost of insurance premiums. Individuals earning $32,490 to $43,320 would be eligible for a credit covering any premium cost over 12% of their income. An earlier version of the Baucus bill set the cap at 13%.