Fooled by the public option debate

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Congressman Mike Ross
Arkansas Democrat, Blue Dog Coalition
September 8, 2009

I have been skeptical about the public health insurance option from the beginning and used August to get feedback from you, my constituents. An overwhelming number of you oppose a government-run health insurance option and it is your feedback that has led me to oppose the public option as well.

…if House leadership presents a final bill that contains a government-run public option, I will oppose it.

http://ross.congressnewsletter.net/common/mailings/?id=308

And…

Hoyer: Public health plan might have to go

By Mike Soraghan
The Hill
September 8, 2009

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday that a public option might need to be dropped from the healthcare bill in order to get it passed.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/57637-hoyer-public-health-plan-might-have-to-go

Comment:

By Don McCanne, MD

In his Labor Day speech yesterday, President Obama, in using his “I continue to believe…” phrasing when mentioning a public option, made it quite clear that he will not tell the joint session of Congress tomorrow that the lack of a public option in the reform bill will result in a veto.

The hype tomorrow following his speech will be that insurance market reforms will be his line in the sand, and that he will let the public option go if necessary (perhaps as a trigger with a weld on the trigger lock).

But the debate over the public option has been a very successful diversionary tactic on the part of the insurance industry. The real debate should have been over whether or not to replace the private insurance plans with a single public plan. The insurance industry won outright since we never had that debate.

Now everyone will have to buy a private plan with inadequate benefits (65-70% actuarial value), and unaffordable premiums, with inadequate subsidies, and with continuing unaffordable cost escalation. This will negatively impact middle-income individuals and families the most.

And our out? Those hardship waivers that will waive the fines we would face for committing the criminal act of being uninsured. And with time, more and more of us will qualify for them.

The progressives drew a line on the public option. Maybe now they should back up and draw the line on single payer. That could give us a fresh start on reform that works for the people instead of the insurers