Baucus healthcare nightmare

This is scarier than the Mr. Boogedy movie that gave me nightmares as a kid.

Baucus put the cost of his bill at $856 billion. It would require nearly all Americans to carry insurance and employers to help cover the costs of providing government subsidies, while prohibiting insurance companies from dropping or denying coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cost $774 billion over 10 years and cover 94 percent of Americans. It would leave 25 million people uninsured in 2019 — a third of whom are illegal immigrants — compared with 17 million in the House bill.

The analysis came in $82 billion lower than Baucus had thought it would, suggesting there could be room for senators to make adjustments. However, any expenses added to the bill must be offset with new revenue, making the task politically difficult.

Well, at least he found a way to slash $82 billion...

And if we're going to use absurd metaphors, I'll hand the mic to Representative Weiner:

“Bipartisanship on Capitol Hill is the equivalent of a child looking for the unicorn,” Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) said, referring to the months of negotiations between Baucus and three Republican senators on the committee — none of whom has embraced his bill.

Anyone know exactly what "The" unicorn is?