While various reports have suggested that chances of a bipartisan agreement on health care legislation are sinking into the sunset, the Gang of Six — those three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee — appear to be plowing ahead.
The senators spoke for about 90 minutes Thursday night on a conference call, after which Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and chairman of the committee, said the senators “remain committed” to working toward a bipartisan bill.
He called the session “productive” and said the senators were focused on making health care affordable and reducing costs. And they expect to meet again before the Senate returns to Washington on Sept. 8.
Here is his statement, which was issued just before midnight Thursday:
As we travel our states, our work on health care reform continues. Tonight was a productive conversation — we discussed our progress and remain committed to continuing our path toward a bipartisan health care reform bill. Our discussion included an increased emphasis on affordability and reducing costs, and our efforts moving forward will reflect that focus. We have come a long way, will continue our work throughout August and plan to meet again before the Senate returns in September.
A note from aides to Mr. Baucus added: “The bipartisan group spent approximately an hour and half discussing their ongoing efforts to craft health care reform legislation that lowers costs and provides quality, affordable coverage. Specifically, the conversation focused on affordability and reducing costs, and the members instructed their staffs to develop and refine ideas to achieve these goals.”
Joining the call with Mr. Baucus were two other Democrats, Senators Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Kent Conrad of North Dakota; and the three Republicans, Senators Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Mike Enzi of Wyoming.
The conference call was planned earlier this week and came after President Obama said in a radio interview Thursday that he was confident that a health care overhaul would pass. (Mr. Obama also said he believed Republicans were obstructing the effort largely to deny his administration a significant victory.)
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