On Wednesday, Baucus plans to unveil a plan for universal health insurance coverage.
The Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, one of the nation's most powerful unions and an Obama supporter, is mobilizing millions of people nationwide to press Washington for aggressive action on healthcare.
"We are going to run this like it is a presidential campaign, but our candidate will be healthcare reform," said Dennis Rivera, chairman of SEIU Healthcare. "It will be very disheartening if there is no action."
Castellani of the Business Roundtable said he hoped a comprehensive overhaul bill could be on the floor of the House and Senate within 100 days of Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20.
In 2007, the four advocacy groups lobbying Obama formed the Divided We Fail coalition to raise the profile of the healthcare issue in the presidential campaign.
The unusual partnership -- linking labor and business groups with the politically potent AARP -- secured pledges from Obama and more than two-thirds of the members of the new Congress to work across the aisles on the issue.
"We can't allow campaign promises of bipartisanship and action to fall apart simply because the election is over," said Nancy LeaMond, AARP's executive vice president. "Millions of Americans are still struggling to find affordable healthcare."
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noam.levey@latimes.com
