A bit of good news on the healthcare front:
The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, said Monday that he would modify his health care bill to provide more generous assistance to moderate-income Americans, to help them buy insurance.
It was not immediately clear how much Mr. Baucus would increase the proposed subsidies. He said he wanted to reduce the maximum amount that moderate-income Americans would have to pay in premiums, under the legislation, to less than 12 percent of income.
Right now the Baucus bill requires families to pay a maximum of 13% of their income for health insurance, so while a reduction to 12% would be a step in the right direction, it’s a fairly small step. Still, at least it’s a welcome sign. If both Baucus and Olympia Snowe are open to compromise on subsidy levels, and if this is their opening bid, we might actually get somewhere before this thing is put to bed.
