The public on the public option…
October 27, 2009Jon Brooks Comments OffSome selected user comments from the New York Times and Washington Post on yesterday’s news that Harry Reid will include a public option–with a provision for states to opt out–in the final health care bill
This whole debate tells me that the next thing that needs to be reformed are the rules of the Senate. Reputable polls shows sizeable majorities favor the public option….Yet, it supposedly requires 60 votes in the Senate to pass what this majority wants and voted for. Where’s is the will of the people in all this? The will of the industry and lobbies is well served. Lobbyists give massive amounts of money to influence the GOP and a few Blue Dogs, and the people are left out. Pass a strong public option then reform the Senate.
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The “public option” is not a true “public option” if it isn’t available until 2013 and if it isn’t available to those with insurance. How can a plan which is so hobbled compete with private insurers?———————————————————————————————————————–
The entire Opt-Out scheme is an example of the Senate, and particularly Mr. Reid, acting irresponsibly. Had this happened when tMedicare was passed, it would be a shambles.
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Does anyone think that an organization authorized and funded by Congress to make decisions on payment for claims is going to deny a claim by a patient, doctor, hospital, equipment manufacturer, or drug manufacturer located in Harry Reid’s district or contributing to his campaign fund? Or that of any other influential member of Congress? Cost containment indeed!
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To facilitate compromise, make the Public Option available to people 55 and older. These are the people who need it most, who face the highest premiums from private insurers, and who have the greatest difficulty getting a job with health care if they are laid off or unemployed. This can be used as the experiment to see if private insurers can compete and if a government plan can be well run and fair to the marketplace.
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It’s rather ironic that conservatives would deny Americans the opportunity to use a public insurance system under the pretext that the current system is the ‘greatest healthcare system in the world.’ If it’s so great, why would anyone want to choose an alternative? Where’s the threat?
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Mr. Reid has been in the Senate long enough to know how dangerous his position is. When the Clintons’ healthcare reform initiative was derailed, all attempts at reform went away for years. By introducing a public option proposal that is guaranteed to fail, he risks throwing out the baby with the bathwater. There is nobody who does not think we need healthcare reform. But, can we afford to add to the $56 trillion national debt?
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Great…make health care improvements, but allow a conservative state like mine to “opt out.” This move may make it through congress, but it will most certainly mean it will not happen here, in the state of Texas. Does this mean my federal taxes will pay for such an option in other states, yet not be available for me or my family?
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It’s doubtful that any state will opt out. The politicians who ot out will face the wrath of their voters and legislators. Remember South Carolina and the stimulus money?
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I’m self-employed and pay over $8000 per year for a mediocre policy with a high deductable and limited benefits. No dental, no mental. Thanks senator reid from the 39,000,000 residents of Texas and Florida where regressive legislatures and Republican governors are sure to opt out of this scheme. This opt-out for the states needs to die in conference.
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I have to say, it’s politically shrewd of Democrats to pass an Opt-Out Public Plan. It forces conservative states to take a stand. If it fails, Democrats can say they did what they could, but will still take some heat for it. But if it works, they can claim a huge victory, and conservative politicians will have to perform the political equivalent of eating crow.
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(The implication that) conservative states will definitely opt out glosses over the potential for political pressure in a given state, as folks see and hear how their neighbors are enjoying the public plan, and internalizing the facts that it’s the public plan that is going to do the most to rein in premiums and promote competition. Folks in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, might start to get pretty vocal about their lack of any real, quality choice besides Blue Cross or Wellpoint.
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Deep thought: when I fly over the flyover states that “opt out” of a Public Option, and I happen to have bought public insurance, will I become temporarily uninsured? Will the flight attendant make an announcement like:“Warning – we are about to enter an opt-out zone; in the unlikely event of a forced landing, those who have public health insurance will have to pay for any medical treatment out of pocket. In the next five minutes, if you choose to purchase supplementary coverage for medical injuries that may occur while we are cross this opt-out zone, please ring the call button. Our partners at Humana accept all major credit cards.”
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Obama claimed that we need a public option to keep insurance companies “honest.” So if they weren’t honest, why didn’t the government just go after them? And why is Obama basically shrugging his shoulders now at the idea of a public option?Nothing has changed in the way the money grubbing insurance companies operate in the past several months, but Obama never fought for public option after claiming we needed it. So why did he ever claim that we needed it in the first place when he was never prepared to fight for it?
The insurance companies will become even more dishonest now.Thanks for nothing, Obama. And spineless Harry Reid.
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No state would opt out of the public option because they would be effectively subsidizing health care in other states while getting none themselves. Single payer will never fly in the U.S….so the public option (that mythic yet-to-be-precisely-defined brain storm from some liberal think tank) is the best the libs can get…
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I’ll say it again – EVEN IF JESUS COMES DOWN AND BLESSES THIS BILL, REPUBLICANS WILL VOTE AGAINST THIS BILL BECAUSE THEY DON’T LIKE OBAMA. Sorry to say it.
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When will health care reform take place?
1) When Americans learn to take care of themselves and not whine to the government for everything…Many problems can be solved by learning about your own body and what it needs and what it doesn’t need and how to take care of it…no excuses.2) When the government is honest and will say that there are about 12 million that really need help and that 177 million are happy with what the present system with some improvements.
3) When the government quits being a bunch of little babies behind the wheel, outrageously vilifying insurance companies and doctors for their own agenda. Insurance companies are highlgy regulated by state governments…
4) When this present government gets out of bed with the Ambulance Chasers and the Slip and Slide Lawyers like Edwards. He, like others, bring phony science into court, turn those court rooms into soap operas and wipe out the High risk Obstetricians and drive up the cost of insurance so they can live in Palatial Estates.
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Ugh. If employees can’t choose the public “option” over their employer’s plan, how will insurance companies be forced to compete?
The public option will be only for the uninsured or uninsurable and insurance companies will get a healthier pool of customers.
Tell me again how this is a good thing for anybody except the insurance industry?
