Here's the full policy paper, which stretches to almost 100 pages. I'm in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Building, where about 10 cameras and a 100 people have assembled to watch Baucus announce his plan. The room is full, every wall covered with leaning people who couldn't find chairs. Coming days after Barack Obama's election, it's being understood as the kickoff of the next major health care reform battle. Now Baucus steps a blue cutout emblazoned with the Senate Finance Committee logo. "Today," he says, "46 million Americans have no health insurance." He mentions the underinsured, and how much more Americans spend for how little they receive. "If you fix Wall Street, fix the housing prices, fix taxes, and fix everything else, but don't fix health care prices, government spending will continue to go up, deficits will continue to rise, and America will face more economic challenges," says Baucus. Here we go.
