SFC still on track for mid-June mark-up of health reform bill, Baucus says

The Senate Finance Committee appears to be on track to meet its self-imposed mid-June deadline for marking up a healthcare reform bill. On May 21, SFC Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) offered up odds of 75 to 80 percent that a bipartisan bill will emerge from his committee next month.

Is Baucus overly optimistic about the prospects of health reform this year? There have certainly been many attempts at healthcare reform in the past, most notably, healthcare reform measures advocated by President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. However, attempts to reform our healthcare system go back to the New Deal.

What's different this time? Health reform may be a boring topic to some, but, this time, people do seem to be paying attention. More importantly, this time, the American public appears to be supportive of efforts to reform healthcare, despite the tough economy (or maybe because of the difficult economy?)

Of course, the devil is in the details. Public support can evaporate in an instant. Big issues—such as how to pay for health reform and whether to include a government-financed public plan option, just to name a few—remain. So far, support for health care reform this year seems to be holding but "it ain't over til it's over," as Yogi Berra said. You can rest assured that we’ll be following the latest health reform developments for you—whenever it ends.