Baucus's Public Option
Yes, here it is (thanks to Emptywheel for bringing it to our attention):
Health Insurance Exchange. The Baucus plan would establish the Health Insurance Exchange through which individuals and small businesses in the market for insurance could obtain affordable health care coverage. …
The Exchange would also include a new public plan option, similar to Medicare. This option would abide by the same rules as private insurance plans participating in the Exchange (e.g., offer the same levels of benefits and set the premiums the same way). Rates paid to health care providers by this option would be determined by balancing the goals of increasing competition and ensuring access for patients to high-quality health care. A number of options could be considered to determine who runs the plan, who is eligible for it, and how to ensure that the public-private insurance competition lowers costs and improves quality. The Independent Health Coverage Council, described below, would inform these decisions.
This is from “Call to Action: Health Reform 2009,” put out by Sen. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus. The title may have you confused for a few minutes; why is everyone saying the Baucus plan has no public option? But then you notice the date on the document: November 12, 2008.
A few interesting numbers from the current Baucus plan:
The plan puts limits on insurance company “rating”—i.e., charging higher or lower premiums based on characteristics of the insured such as age. (The plan allows rating based on age, tobacco use, and family composition.) With the limits, premiums for the same-size family could vary by 7.5 to 1. That sounds pretty unaffordable for the late-middle-aged smoker.
The plan defines affordability: as long as the lowest-cost plan available has annual premiums equal to 10% of household income or less, then “affordable” coverage is deemed available and the mandate to have insurance will apply—enforced by fines of up to $950/year for an individual and $3,800/year for a family.
