2009-01-14

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and who has also been at the forefront of the health reform debate, has indicated that he will be introducing health reform legislation later than he originally expected. In November, Senator Baucus released a blueprint for health-care reform that offered a broad outline of a reform package aiming to ensure universal coverage, lower cost, and increase quality of care, and reflected his interest to play a major role in this issue. At that time, Baucus indicated that he planned to make his health reform legislation one of the first bills introduced during the 111th Congress, which formally convened on January 6. Senator Baucus has not yet given an updated timeframe for formal introduction of his health reform legislation.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) named a team of senior Republican senators earlier this week to lead health reform efforts in the 111th Congress. Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; Charles Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee; Judd Gregg (R-NH), a member of the HELP Committee; and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), a member of both the HELP and Finance Committees, will take the lead for Senate Republicans during health reform negotiations.

On the Democratic side, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), the Chairman of the HELP Committee, began to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive overhaul plan last year and plans an exhaustive round of hearings and legislative markups in the 11th Congress. In November, Senator Kennedy announced the establishment of several health reform working groups led by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Hillary Clinton (D-NY), who are all members of the HELP Committee.

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