Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) today released a health reform blueprint that would aspire to provide meaningful and affordable coverage to all Americans. The 98-page document—released just eight days after the election—provides further evidence of a growing coalition in Congress eager to tackle health reform in the coming year. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) promises his version before inauguration. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) already has a bipartisan plan he developed with Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT).

Baucus in a news conference addressed both the moral and economic imperatives of health reform, and linked coverage for all Americans to quality improvements in the health care system. He said he would work to make reform bipartisan -- not just in a token bipartisan sense but in a broad cooperative push aimed at getting around 80 of the 100 Senate votes for refom. He expressed confidence that he would be able to work with fellow Democrats, including of course President-elect Barack Obama.

Baucus did not put a price tag on his policies but he did not shirk from the fact that there would be costs.In later years, investment in things like more primary care and wellness and comparative effectiveness would lead to savings, but the initial years would require spending, he said.

The pdf of the plan (also available on the Senate Finance web site), as well as the executive summary, is attached at the bottom of this post. Here are the links to the media coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, and Wall Street Journal. Read the details yourself but a few key components are:

• Phased in individual mandates
• Strengthening the employer-based system
• Creating a Health Insurance Exchange, a regulated market where individuals and businesses can purchase insurance.
• Expanding primary care and chronic care management
• Exploring "targeted reforms" of tax treatment of employer-based health insurance

Baucus wrote in the executive summary:

I believe it is the duty of the next Congress to reform America's health care system. In 2009, Congress must take up and act on meaningful health reform legislation that achieves coverage for all Americans while also addressing the underlying problems in our health system. The urgency of this task has become undeniable. ...In short, we all must realize that the costs of inaction, both in human and financial terms, will eventually be far greater than any initial outlays. We must choose to invest now in a health care system that will richly repay the nation with greater health and economic stability in the long term.