Last Piece of the Puzzle

(via Congress Daily) "Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus released his mark this morning for an $856 billion healthcare overhaul. Republicans working with Baucus to create a bipartisan package did not sign on. The mark is similar to a proposal Baucus released over the Labor Day weekend that creates a co-op system of health insurance to compete with private insurers. It also expands Medicaid to those earning 133 percent over the poverty line and mandates that individuals acquire healthcare coverage while providing tax credits to help those earning as much as 400 percent of the poverty level. One change from the earlier proposal is the addition of a medical malpractice provision expressing a "sense of the Senate" that encourages states to undertake pilot projects to improve the litigation system."

Nate Silver has a good post at 538 (Baucus' Mark Draws Enthusiastic Support from Max Baucus) And Ezra expands:

Max Baucus will release the Chairman's Mark -- the official first draft of his bill -- later today. But things are not going according to plan. He's got a bill full of the compromises meant to attract Republican support, but no Republican support. Not even Olympia Snowe, at this point, has committed to backing the bill.

Meanwhile, the framework has conceded enough to the GOP that it's also losing Democratic support, including that of Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the Finance Committee's Health Care Subcommittee. And Rockefeller says that four to six Democrats on the committee feel similarly. Baucus is thus caught between a rock and a hard place. The absence of any Republican support makes it hard for him to justify his compromises. And his compromises make it hard for the Democrats on the committee to support his bill.