Reply #79: No offense, but that is not how either legal construction or politics work.

[Romulox]

There logically has to be some eligibility requirement for participation in the Public Option. If it is not defined in the bill presently, it will have to be either spelled out in a further draft or else ceded to a Federal agency to set standards; in any event, there will be some eligibility requirements for participation (if nothing more than US citizenship/residency and current payment of premiums.)

So to pretend that a non-mention of eligibility proves that eligibility is whatever is convenient to one's argument isn't terribly convincing.

"then the public plan can't turn away customers for any reasons that don't also apply to the private insurers."

The text of the bill doesn't say that. At all. That's what we're discussing. :hi: