Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) wrote a great piece in today's NY Times arguing for a change in the Baucus bill. It would go a long way toward making health insurance work for everyone, and putting us all on an equal footing when it comes to having access to coverage.
The Baucus bill is pretty good, except for the wide variation in premiums that would be allowed on the basis of age. See my previous post for a description of the problems there. Wyden's amendment wouldn't work if such wide deviations survive in the Baucus bill, because only the young would leave employer plans for the Health Exchange, and companies would find themselves paying more for their own plans. They would soon dump their own plans, leaving older workers to buy on the exchange and pay high premiums while getting only an average subsidy from the employer. (Employer plans do NOT vary benefits by age of worker, so they would not give higher subsidies to older workers trying to buy a plan in the health exchange.
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