Senate Finance Hearings on Universal Healthcare Kick Off

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) today sounded and furied against years of congressional idleness on healthcare issues. His pledge? At least five hearings that would lead to a workable universal healthcare plan.

We?ll soon talk our way to a better, healthier America.

Baucus, rightly, sees healthcare as a basic human right.  He has said that these hearings would focus on the broad concept of universal health coverage, cost controls, the role of preventive health programs and ultimately on who should shoulder the burden of such a plan.

(Hint: not us.)

In testimony before the committee, James Mongan, president of Partners HealthCare System, Boston, said that broad support on health legislation has always been difficult to achieve because of revenue issues and split political ideologies (which is just another way of saying ?revenue issues?).  Massachusetts could provide the model the for the federal government to use.