By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) - The Senate Finance Committee began Tuesday morning to consider a bill crafted by Sen. Max Baucus, the panel's chairman, that would expand health insurance to many of the 46 million who don't now have insurance coverage.

Baucus's package would cost about $850 billion over 10 years, but the bill is paid for by savings and by new taxes and fees.

Baucus's bill is expected to change considerably over the next week as the Finance panel considers amendments. According to the Finance panel, more than 500 amendments have been filed to the bill.

At the start of the hearing, Baucus said he believes he has a strong bill that is balanced and fiscally responsible.

"This is our opportunity to make history ... . The time has come reform America's health care," he said.

He added that he is still eager to work with Republicans to craft a final bill.

"I'm eager to work with other senators to make this an even better bill," he said.

"My door is always open," he said.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the panel, said the effort to craft a bipartisan bill was undermined by the Obama administration's decision to set "an arbitrary deadline" for a bill.

"The cries of impatience won out," he said.

Baucus said that his plan will not increase the deficit over the first decade and will help bend the cost curve.

Baucus's bill would expand Medicaid coverage and set up consumer-owned insurance cooperatives rather than create a public option.

His package offers tax credits for small businesses as well as low income consumers to help them buy private insurance on an exchange. It would also set up state-based cooperatives to compete with private insurers as a way of lowering costs and boosting quality. It includes a 35% excise tax on insurance companies and plan administrators for any health insurance plan that is above the threshold of $8,000 for singles and $21,000 for family plans. A number of the amendments that have been filed seek to increase the subsidies that allow low income people to buy health insurance and also to adjust the tax on health insurance plans so the tax doesn't hit the middle class.

If the Finance panel is able to pass a bill, Senate Democratic leaders will merge that with a bill passed in July by the Senate Health and Education Committee.

A combined bill would likely come to the Senate floor in early October.

Three House panels passed health care reform related bills in July that reflected a plan by House Democratic leaders, but they also made some modifications.

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