Think Progress's Igor Volsky chronicles how far Baucus went to appease Republicans, who are all rejecting the bill anyway.
Would federal dollars be used to fund abortion? No. Federal subsidies cannot be used to cover abortions that do not involve rape or incest. All abortion procedures would have to be financed through private premiums.
Are illegal immigrants eligible for coverage and government subsidies? Illegal immigrants are exempt from the mandate and would not be eligible to purchase coverage within the Exchange; they’re relegated to the individual market (which would shrink but would presumably have the same protections as the Exchange.) Legal permanent residents with incomes below 100% of the federal poverty are ineligible for Exchange subsidies and (presumably, following existing law) have to wait five years before qualifying for Medicaid. Thus, for the first five years of their residency, most legal immigrants may remain uninsured.
What are the verification requirements? To obtain coverage within the Exchange, an applicant’s "name, social security number, and date of birth will be verified with Social Security Administration (SSA) data." "For individuals who do not claim to be U.S. citizens but claim to be lawfully present in the United States, if the claim of lawful presence is consistent with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data then the claim will be considered substantiated"
Is tort reform part of the bill? Yes, states are encouraged "to develop and test alternatives to the current civil litigation system as a way of improving patient safety, reducing medical errors, encouraging the efficient resolution of disputes, increasing the availability of prompt and fair resolution of disputes, and improving access to liability insurance, while preserving an individual‘s right to seek redress in court."
Who will finance Medicaid expansion? Beginning in 2014, "additional Federal financial assistance would be provided to all states to defray the costs of covering newly-eligible beneficiaries." The Federal government would pay states on a sliding scale. "States that offer minimal or no coverage of the newly-eligible population currently would receive more assistance initially than those states that currently cover at least some non-elderly, non-pregnant individuals." The states that already cover more than 133% FPL (like Maine, for instance) would still receive extra federal assistance, but they would see less money than states that just offer the bare minimum Medicaid coverage.
Yeah, that was worth it. By the way, Baucus calls undocumented workers "illegals" throughout the mark. Nice.
Greg Sargent has more on how much was given away procedurally in the debacle:
Result: Baucus asked for more time for the Gang of Six to work its magic, and Harry Reid gave it to them, saying that this request was not "unreasonable." The resulting delay was used by reform foes — and even by the same Republicans who were dangling the prospect of compromise — to stoke the public’s fears throughout the month of August.
It’s perfectly possible that the resulting shift in public opinion could mean the final bill will be significantly different than it might have been. That, in the end, could end up being the Gang of Six’s true legacy.