Opening statements took up the entire first half of the day. And more to come – Senators Jay Rockefeller and Pat Roberts will give their statements after the committee returns at 2:45 p.m. A few more highlights since my last post:
- Republican Mike Enzi, a member of the “gang of six,” said the Baucus bill is remiss in not offering Americans the choice to carry only catastrophic health insurance coverage. These plans have very high deductibles, low premiums and are not considered comprehensive coverage, although they are relatively inexpensive.
- Democrat Maria Cantwell expressed her support for reimbursing seniors more for home health care, which is cheaper than nursing home care.
- Republican Ensign said the Baucus bill doesn’t do enough to make sure Americans have “skin in the game.” In other words, he said the current health insurance system provides too much coverage that doesn’t encourage Americans to take an interest in how much their health care costs.