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Key Senators Say Dem Leadership Entertaining Idea Of Weak Public Option
WASHINGTON - In recent days, Senate Democratic leadership, and even the White House have been sounding a bit more bullish on the public option than they had in recent weeks. Majority Leader Harry Reid even went so far as to say that 'some kind' of public option will be in the Senate bill at the end of the day. But just how great a range of ideas is under discussion at this point?
In a press conference this morning with other Democratic senators, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) -- member of the Senate Finance Committee and a supporter of a robust public option -- says it's a "broad definition."
"The states are one way to go," she said
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who also sits on Finance and supports a public option as enthusiastically as Stabenow does, added, "There are state options that are devised in such a way that only a region of the state is included, in which case that's not really a significant public option."
"If the whole state is included in a public option -- they have that option -- well that's a much more significant standard than some that have been proposed," Menendez told reporters.
Liberals and health care reformers--including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have intentionally spent months making it clear that state-based plans don't meet muster. They say that the definition of a public option implies that it's available as soon as the legislation takes effect, that it's available nationally, and that it is accountable to taxpayers.
In the House of Representatives, for instance, the fight right now is about how the public option will reimburse providers--not about its extent or it's date of implementation.
Still, Menendez isn't ruling out a public option that matches the reformers' criterion. "I think that Sen. Schumer's [level playing field] provision...has a lot of appeal, and I would hope that we move forward in that direction and maybe some further tweaks to it that would make it more acceptable to others who have some concerns."
16 Comments so far
Show AllThe longer this thing ferments in Congress, the worse it smells.. Where the hell is Obama? Why did you want to be President? The White House and Air Force One and other trappings of power?.. May your dreams be haunted.
Lets follow the money briefly. For election cycle 2008 it looks like this for donations from health and insurance groups.
Reid $1,500,000
Stabenow $840,000
Schumer $700,000
Menendez $ 570,000
I would guess that any favorable efforts toward real reform by these folks is all window dressing. There will be nothing of value to us with Democrates like this.
source: opensecrets.org
Heidi
Let's look at why health care costs are so high. If we take insurance out of the mix all together and let health care set actual costs of services, we would have much lower costs. The purpose of insurance is to mitigate the cost of health care. It is not the job of insurance companies to come between a patient and the doctor.
When health care costs are based on actual costs and not on how much can be gotten from insurance companies, the cost of health care will drop. Then you add insurance back in in a rational fashion to assist in covering major medical costs.
The health care system as it exists now is not managed for the benefit of patients, but for the benefit of providers who are mostly paid by insurance companies (whose funds come from the insured!!!!!)and not by patients.
Oh, I'm not worried about THIS go-round.
Before the end of the week, there'll be another announcement that our Elected Misrepresentatives are "entertaining", say, the "NOMINAL Public Option".
And if that balloon doesn't float, we'll get the "Public Option Lite", the "Semi-Public Option", and eventually the "Optional Public Option".
But by then we'll all be dead. Problem solved!
· Yr Obd't Servant
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score's the baucus plan at $829 Billion over a 10 year period, that is paid for. The CBO also states that it will lower the deficit by $81 Billion and it would be much lower if there was a public option.
Criminally corrupt politicians are the reason the U.S. is ranked near the bottom of every catagory when ranked next to other modern, industrialized nations. Time for publically funded elections.
lieberman $12.6M, mcconnell $7.8M, baucus $7.7M, cornyn $6.7M, kyl $5.6M, grassley $5.4M, ensign $5.2M, conrad $5.1M, cantor $4.9M, nelson $4.9M, burr $4.8M, boehner $4.4M, hatch $4.4M, lincoln $4.1M, vitter $3.9M, carper $3.6M were paid by the Medical Industrial Complex to kill Health Care Reform. (Source: OpenSecrets.org Aug. 09)
Follow the Money: http://hmc-lavadogs.livejournal.com/20128.html
Call Congress and demand, Single-Payer Health Care for All!
(Toll Free # House and Senate)
1-866-338-1015 _____ 1-866-220-0044
1-800-473-6711 _____ 1-866-311-3405
Sign Single-Payer Petitions: http://www.singlepayeraction.org/join.html
http://www.americacantwait.com/TrueMajority
Don’t let the Medical Industrial Complex steal your Health Care from you and your family by donating huge sums of money to Crooked Politicians in order to maintain the Status Quo. Keep up the good fight.
SEMPER FI!
By way of comparison, an econometric study by the California Nurses Association showed that if a single payer plan, like found in HR 676, was adopted, 350 billion dollars would be saved each year and 2.6 million jobs would be created as a result.
Cost wise, single payer is a no-brainer, but of course brains are not what moves Congress. Greenbacks do.
COMMON DREAMS:
"broad definition", "some kind", "weak".
I EXPECT MORE FROM YOU. THIS SAYS A LOT OF NOTHING.
WHICH IS WHAT "PUBLIC OPTION" REPRESENTS.
WEAK, ROBUST, ANY WAY, IT IS NOT GOING TO PROVIDE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL PEOPLE. IF OBAMA HAS HIS WAY, HE WILL INCLUDE THE MANDATE FORCING ALL PEOPLE TO BUY IT OR BE FINED. THIS CLEARLY BENEFITS THE INSURANCE COMPANIES.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHERE IS YOUR COVERAGE OF SINGLE-PAYER ADVOCACY IN CONGRESS??
DENNIS KUCINICH CO-SPONSORED AND IS STILL FIGHTING FOR SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE FOR ALL WITH JOHN CONYERS, HR676.
I HAVE BEEN TOUTING YOU AS BEING MORE HONEST AND LESS BIASED TOWARDS OBAMA IN YOUR COVERAGE THAN ALTERNET.
WHAT GIVES?
Any mention of a "public option" based on the states is no option at all. Does anyone really believe the benefits/qualifications will be the same in Idaho, where I live, as they are in New York? I live across the border from Washington state which not only has the second-highest minimum wage in the country but also its own state-funded health insurance plan.The width of a river puts me in Idaho with the lowest state minimum wage in the country, the most onerous welfare rules in the country and the the second- strictest Medicaid qualifications in the country. Some things MUST be Federally administered or we all end up living in individual fiefdoms ruled over by such disparate factions it becomes untenable to call it the United States.Is anyone surprised that all my Representatives are good old boy Republicans? Welcome to the reddest, whitest state in the union!
When these Country Club Clowns talk about a "public option" what they really mean is that listening to the public is an option, but listening to the insurance industry and Wall Street is mandatory.
Our Senators are just looking for a fig leaf to cover up their part in feeding our children to the Corporate Insurance Robber Barons.
In the end, they'll settle for a PICTURE of a fig leaf.
· Yr Obd't Servant
I expect the bill to pass w/ an individual mandate. I hope that someone more sophisticated than I can help me sign up people for the following initiative.
NO WE WON'T.
If you don't have health insurance don't buy it.
If you do cancel it.
The penalties are 1/10 of the cost of a policy & they can't both practically and legally, throw us all in jail.
BTW if you like your health insurance I liked mine too until I needed it. Then the delays and denials turned a broken foot that should have been a 6 week inconvenience into a 2 year disability that I corrected w/ $50,000 of PT out of my own pocket.
Shame on you Barack Obama!
Please stop voting for Democrats.
-TIA
We the People are wimps and Congress does not fear us. Congress laughs at us. They know that YOU will do nothing of consequence to disturb their corrupt peace. In the near future the dollar will be devalued by fifty percent and YOU will do nothing. Health Insurance rate increases will be disguised as health care reform, and YOU will do nothing. Two million more people will lose their homes next year and YOU will do nothing. Fifty thousand people will die because they have no health insurance next year and YOU will do nothing. YOU, because YOU do nothing of consequence, are increasingly becoming an economic slave. YOU are the problem, not the solution. YOU are nothing.
Thanks for the pep talk, Stone.
Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) are out at Cigna Insurance in Chicago protesting today.
Will Common Dreams provide any coverage on that?
I want to believe that most people are trying to do whatever is in their power to do, whether it is protesting or attempting to communicate the facts.
I just hope, we, that includes PDA, Common Dreams, etc. support the only presidential candidate that advocates single-payer health care and that is Dennis Kucinich for 2012.