January 22,2007

Baucus Comments on President’s Health Care Plan

Senator renews pledge to renew CHIP this year, extend coverage to the uninsured

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, today issued the following comment on a new health care proposal released by the Bush administration, which would create a standard tax deduction for health insurance.

“The skyrocketing cost of health care is the number one concern on the minds of many Americans,” Baucus said. “We need to do everything we can to make health care more affordable. Any serious health care proposal will target health care savings toward new coverage to Americans who are currently uninsured, and better coverage to those who don’t have enough. I applaud the President for putting health care at the fore of his State of the Union address. I want to look closely to see whether his proposal will help to cover the uninsured and help to meet the needs of those with real medical expenses. This year, I’m dedicated first to extending insurance coverage to children through a renewal and expansion of CHIP. I’m also interested in exploring the idea of new and innovative pooling arrangements to expand affordable health care coverage. I’m ready to work with anyone who’s putting forward real ideas about getting health care to more Americans.”

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