On November 12th, 2008, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) released his plan for health reform in 2009.

From a press release on the Baucus plan for health reform:

The Baucus “white paper” details specific policy options for consideration by the 111th Congress. The main objectives of the Baucus plan are to achieve universal coverage, reduce health care costs and improve the quality of care our system provides. Baucus’s vision for achieving these objectives includes an individual responsibility to hold health insurance – once quality, affordable care is accessible to all. His plan seeks to reach that point through measures to shore up the employer-based system, through a one-stop insurance marketplace for individuals and businesses, and through limited expansions of public programs. The plan also includes a number of insurance reforms to make the market work better for American health care consumers, and delivery system reforms that emphasize better quality, primary care for more patients, and a stronger focus on preventive care. Baucus also suggests potential savings and efficiencies that can be found in a remade health care system to reduce the cost of reform.

Full whitepaper: Call to Action