New plan draws fire: Baucus faces criticism from within his own party

WASHINGTON (THE WASHINGTON POST) - The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said yesterday that he will propose an overhaul of the nation's health-care system that deals with a host of GOP concerns, including blocking illegal immigrants from gaining access to subsidized insurance, urging limits on medical-malpractice lawsuits and banning federal subsidies for abortion.

Even after Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., spoke optimistically of gaining bipartisan backing, legislators continued to haggle over a question at the heart of the debate: How can the government force people to buy insurance without imposing a financial burden on millions of middle-class Americans?

Even within his own party, Baucus confronted a fresh wave of concern about affordability. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., declared himself dissatisfied with the chairman's plan, which, like other reform proposals, would require every American to buy health insurance by 2013.