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When I met with Senator Max Baucus in Denver, he said two things that surprised me. The first was that he would consider moving health care through the reconciliation process. The second came when I asked about his bottom-line principles.
MB: Universal coverage, that’s one. Every American has health insurance.EK: When you say universal coverage, do you mean universal access to coverage or literally ever American is guaranteed, either they have to get through an individual mandate or the government says you’ll have it or…?MB: More than access. It’s there, it’s there. I’m not sure exactly what it is.EK: So you need to take it a step further than the Obama campaign?MB: Well I wouldn’t phrase it that way. He has an individual mandate for children, he doesn’t for others, but I don’t see how you can get meaningful universal coverage without a mandate. It’s pretty hard to get universal coverage without a mandate. You need the large pool to deal with preexisting conditions. It’s very hard to get to meaningful universal coverage without a mandate.He "wouldn't phrase it that way," but Baucus disagreed with the Obama campaign here, and called the disagreement a core principle. Today, the first draft of Baucus's health care plan is being released. I'll have the documents soon, and will be able to give you a fuller rundown then. But according to the Wall Street Journal, it looks a whole lot like Barack Obama's plan, save for one important difference: It has an individual mandate.Related: Have you read the Baucus profile yet?
