Pelosi OK with opt out clause.

[ProSense]

States 'opting out' is a healthcare option

Letting states decline a government insurance plan could help unify congressional Democrats, says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Reporting from Washington - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said Friday that states might be able to "opt out" of any nationwide government insurance plan, a compromise that she suggested could unify congressional Democrats and enable President Obama to sign a healthcare overhaul bill later this year.

Pelosi remains a leading champion of the "public option," which would establish a federal health insurance program that would give consumers who don't get coverage through their employer an alternative to plans offered by commercial insurers. But she told reporters at the Capitol that she did not "think there's much problem" with the opt-out alternative, which had sparked interest among moderate Democrats in the Senate.

"The robust public option is, in my view, a preferred way to go," the speaker said. "It's not the only way to go."

A group of Senate Democrats is also trying to build support for such a plan in the healthcare bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is planning to bring up for a vote next month.

<...>

And some liberal groups like Health Care for America Now, a leading consumer coalition pushing for a public plan, have expressed openness to the idea under some conditions.

more

Offer a robust public option with an opt out.

This afternoon, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)--a very visible public option advocate--said he could back an opt-out clause. "I would accept and would be open to the idea, after the program's up and running a couple years, if a state wants to opt out, if they want to leave 25, 30, 50 thousand of their citizens without that choice," Weiner said. "I dont believe it's gonna happen. So i would accept that kind of an opt-out thing." Rockefeller likewise believes that, once consumers purchase in to the public option, they'll raise hell if their state governments try to take it away from them.

link

Medicaid also allows states to opt out. If any governor is dumb enough to try to yank health care from people, they better explore other job opportunities.