Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has been drawing ever larger crowds of reporters recently when he speaks about health reform. This morning, Baucus (D-Mont.) addressed a crowd of more than 50 reporters at the National Press Club in Washington, outlining the legislative path to a health reform bill that he wants finished by summer's end.

There's been a lot of talk about a creating another public healthcare plan or having a private-public solution to cover uninsured Americans (PBN 3/2/09). However, there's also been support for private options that work just as well. On April 22, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) will review how private healthcare companies "are leading the way to reform with innovative and sustainable solutions that are unique to the private insurance market."

The Senate Finance Committee just convened its first roundtable on healthcare reform at about 10:15 a.m. April 21. The focus for the day's session is the healthcare delivery system.

The Senate Finance Committee took a brief break from its roundtable discussion on healthcare reform on April 21 and voted to favorably report the nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for HHS secretary. The vote was mostly along party lines, with a final tally of 15-8 (I was off by one).

We heard rumblings during the recent two-week congressional recess that Capitol Hill staffers remained in Washington and busily worked away on major reform bills. Now, recess is over and we're seeing some movement. Democratic senators say by June they will "markup" - meaning debate and propose - major healthcare reform legislation. That's just two months away... have you ever seen Congress move so quickly on healthcare reform?