Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said his panel will consider a draft of health-care legislation even without Republican support, signaling a readiness to abandon months of efforts to reach a bipartisan deal.

Baucus, who pledged to release a draft proposal of the legislation next week, also said a government-run insurance program favored by President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and many other Democrats won’t pass the U.S. Senate.

“We have to move forward,” Baucus, a Montana Democrat, told reporters in Washington today. “I very much hope and do expect Republicans will be on board. But if there are not any, we will move forward in any event.”

Baucus said his committee will consider the legislation during the week of Sept. 21, becoming the last congressional panel to deal with the measure, which is intended to extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and rein in health- care costs.

Action by the committee has stalled since earlier this year as Baucus has tried to bring Republicans on board.

His view of the so-called public option -- the government- run insurance plan that would compete with private insurers such as Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc. -- underscores the many battles ahead in Congress over the legislation.

“A public option cannot pass the Senate,” he said.

Billions in Fees

Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders say a government- run plan is essential to help bring down costs, though Majority Leader Steny Hoyer yesterday left the door open to dropping the public program from a final bill.

Obama will address a joint session of Congress at 8 tonight, Washington time, on health care.

Baucus said his proposal will largely track the plan he outlined yesterday, including billions of dollars in fees on insurers and penalties on Americans who fail to get health coverage.

“That is the closest to what can pass the committee and the Senate,” he said after meeting with Democrats on his committee.

Senator Kent Conrad, a member of the so-called Gang of Six bipartisan group negotiating on health care, called Baucus’s plan a “beginning,” warning that lawmakers are a long way from forging an agreement.

“We are nowhere near the end,” said Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat.

To contact the reporter on this story: Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 9, 2009 17:27 EDT