Speculation: Max Baucus for HHS? Here's some background:

[mod mom]

here is some background from Huff Po (I'm still crossing my fingers for Howard):

Sen. Max Baucus, the centrist Democrat from Montana who chairs the powerful Finance Committee, issued a health reform white paper this week. Some are calling it the Baucus "plan," but he disagrees with that label and so do I. It's a statement of positions of key health policy issues, and overall it's a compendium of some of the best "center-to-moderate-left" thinking on those issues. That means it's politically achievable, and would be a significant improvement over what we have today. The Baucus paper may represent grounds for a new bipartisan consensus, and therefore may give a glimpse of what we can expect to see proposed in 2009.

Here are some of the key points raised in the Baucus White Paper:

Health reform can't wait. Sen. Baucus makes clear that meaningful reform will cost money in the short run, but that the cost of inaction would be far greater in the long run. It's implicit throughout the paper: Act now. That would please nonpartisan groups, the AARP, business/labor coalitions, and fellow Democrats who are urging President-Elect Obama to move quickly on health reform.

Eliminate Exclusions for "pre-existing coverage." The Baucus plan eliminates limits on enrollment for people with pre-existing conditions, which suggests that a consensus is forming against this practice.

Press for "individual responsibility," but only after costs come under control. I was one of the few health analyst types arguing against emphasizing health mandates during the election season. Sure, the logic for it is sound - if health insurance isn't mandated, only sicker people will buy it, thus undercutting the solvency of the system. But without careful analysis and design, such mandates are likely to be inherently unfair to the middle class - a regressive tax that's unfairly distributed among working people based on who they work for, not income or ability to pay. (To a large extent that happened in Massachusetts, which many thought would be a model for the nation.)

Still, unless we're ready to create a tax-based system of national health coverage for all (here's how I'd like to see that work), we're going to need some sort of requirement sooner or later. The Baucus paper suggests that cost control efforts be put in place first, with mandates reserved for a later period when the costs become affordable to all that might be required to participate. (Lower-income people would receive subsidies.)

This is a reasonable consensus position.

Emphasize primary care, preventive care, and wellness services: This is good common sense, sound thinking translated into policy. The Baucus paper calls for improved reimbursements for primary care through redesign of the Medicare payment system (which is often followed by private payers).

-snip

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/obama-healthcare-reform-a_b_143618.html

[Thrill]

1. I don't think he would leave the Senate

But I would love him to take it and Schweitzer appoints himself

[TayTay]

5. He's chair of Senate Finance

Why would he take a demotion to be HHS Secretary. He is far more powerful where he is right now.

[mikelgb]

2. Yep, seems milquetoast enough for an Obama cabinet pick

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

3. You don't remove a Democrat from Montana. That's hardly an automatic hold in 2010

[bluestateguy]

4. I've had enough with the Senatorial vacancies

Obama, Biden, Salazar, Hillary, Gregg, etc.

All their successors appointed by governors. The Senate is starting to look like the old days when state legislatures picked the Senators.

[regnaD kciN]

6. Great...another "individual responsiblity" (i.e. "No Insurance Company Left Behind") backer...

Just what the average American needs, if you ask me -- a health-care "plan" that basically tells them "buy private insurance, or we'll fine you the amount you would have paid for it." (For reference, the average cost for a family's coverage is currently between $1,200 and $1.500 per month. How far "under control" does Baucus believe that needs to be brought for it to become mandatory?) This plan worked so well when the Mittster shoved it through in Massachusetts... :puke: