Crunch Time for Gang of Six

Already on life support, bipartisan negotiations over health care may be at death's door as a key senator signaled to fellow lawmakers on Friday that he is close to advancing a bill with or without GOP support. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) told the Gang of Six, a group of three Republican and three Democratic senators working on a bill, that he would soon submit a detailed proposal to gauge whether the Republican half is beyond salvaging. “Senator Baucus made clear he intends to move forward with reform in the near future,” one aide told The New York Times. According to the Times, Baucus' proposal would cost under $900 billion over 10 years, subsidize health insurance for those with incomes up to three times the poverty level, and replace a proposed public-insurance plan with a private co-op instead.