US Sen Baucus: Senate Health Bill Will Have Public Plan

[Old Coot]

Source: Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., Thursday told reporters that a Senate bill will contain a public health insurance option, following the lead of President Obama and drawing a line in the sand on the controversial issue.

After a meeting with senators involved in health-care legislation, Baucus said, "I think the bill that passes the Senate will have some version of the public option." Obama, in a letter Wednesday, said that he strongly supports a public plan option to compete with private insurers.

The meeting was part of a drumbeat of activity this week on proposed legislation to force changes in the U.S. health sector and extend health insurance to those currently without coverage.

Baucus was careful to state that the participants in the meeting are "really working together on a bipartisan basis," but fissures on the public plan were tough to ignore.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090604-716947.html

---

The article makes it clear that Republicans aren't happy with the idea of a public plan.

[mdavies013]

1. I really really really like this.

[DJ13]

2. "....will have some version of the public option."

I wouldnt get too excited, thems weasel words.

He's probably talking about that bastardized plan that only has a public option as "a last resort", making it in effect worthless (except as PR).

[annabanana]

4. "some version" from him is no meaningful version at all. . .n/t

[Frank Booth]

21. Right. With Baucus and Schumer involved,

the insurance industry has its inside men running the game.

[DavidDvorkin]

3. "Public option" is such a vague phrase

I wish I knew what it will turn out to be.

[EFerrari]

5. Ditto. We have a "public option" here in town and

it's nothing to write home about.

[CHIMO]

6. One Option

Might be to offer a public insurance plan.

Doctors would have to decide to be in the public system or the private system. Hospitals in the public system would be non profit.

Transfers of money between the two systems would be on patient risk in the system.

[keopeli]

7. A small step in the correct direction. Keep holding his feet to the fire people! n/t

[FiveGoodMen]

8. Anyone fighting so hard to keep the insurance companies rich will make sure

that the public option is no substitute for the private one.

Count on it.

[hayu_lol]

9. Single-Payer National Health Plan...

nothing else will work.

Time Max finds a real job and quits cashing his check for his photo ops.

[earcandle]

10. HR 676 is where it is at, Obama. No more work to be done. Just vote it in.

Include this and let us vote. 

[PSPS]

11. He's likely thinking he can pass off the "trigger" charade as a "public plan"

[bluestateguy]

12. Very slippery statement

"I think the bill that passes the Senate will have some version of the public option."

That leaves an awful lot of wiggle room. Too much, in fact.

[w4rma]

16. Of course. It's Baucus. Apparantly he is getting enough pressure that he feels that he can't vote

against a public option on the basis that one exists.

[bertman]

13. Who would have ever thought the REPUBLICANS would oppose a public plan?

I'm shocked. Pure T shocked, I tell ya.

Baucus, The-Chief-Insurance-Industry-Shill-In-Charge is trying his old fake left to throw us off, then he's gonna go right for the long yardage. What a disgusting piece o' shit he is.

If our President is a REALLY behind having a legitimate public option, he'll pinch Baucus' pinhead and tell him to fall in line or he'll make his life miserable. This one could be the one to tell us how hard the Prez is willing to fight for "the people".

[MasonJar]

14. It had better not be his plan for public plan to kick in in 7 years if the

insurance companies do not shape up. That is laughable. I still insist on single payer as the only answer for our economy and our citizens. Why will not Obama stand tall for it? He has the clout to do it and the support of 60% of the citizenry. It must be all those big contributions he got from insurance and pharmaceutical companies. What other explanation can there be when he is on tape saying all it would take for single payer is a Democratic president and Congress.

[TaxCollector]

15. No Lung Cancer Coverage

This plan should not cover treatment for lung cancer for people who were smokers.

[w4rma]

17. Why? And what other groups of people do you think should die? (nt)

[Abq_Sarah]

18. Well, if you want to get stupid about it

They can also deny coverage to anyone who eats sugar.

Or drinks alcohol.

Or does anything more dangerous than laying in bed.

[SOS]

24. Ludicrous suggestion

Who else dies because you're a moralist?

People who are injured in car accidents? They knew the risks when they got in the car.
Alcohol abusers?
An obese man with diabetes?
A couch potato with a heart attack?

The list is endless.
Most medical expenses are lifestyle related.
Eliminate them all and we can really save some filthy lucre.

On edit:

Remember Warren Zevon?
He died of lung cancer and was a smoker.
But wait.
His form of illness of mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
And Zevon worked at a factory before his musical success where he inhaled asbestos dust all day.

The lyrics from his song "The Factory":

Johnny, I've been working in the factory
Kickin' asbestos in the factory
Breathin' that plastic in the factory
Punchin' out Chryslers in the factory
Makin' polyvinyl chloride in the factory

Does a guy like Zevon get to see a doctor or not?

[drm604]

19. I'll believe it when I see it.

At least we've pushed him to the point where he realizes that he has to pawn something off on us as a "public plan".

Now we have to push to make sure that it's a real meaningful option that does what it's supposed to do. That will be tough because the insurance industry will do everything they can to dilute it and make it worthless.

[Faryn Balyncd]

20. NOT ENOUGH, Baucus!!! Obama is right when he demands OPEN ENROLLMENT in all participating private..

....plans ----- NO PRE-EXISTING CONDITION exclusion.


That's the way it is with all Medicare Advantage plans (Open Enrollment every year) ----- and that's the way it needs to be in heathcare reform.

Big Insurance wants to deprive Americans of choice, AND they want to continue dumping high risk, unprofitable patients on the taxpayer. They have conned the Senate Finance Committee into siding with Big Insurance.


But we are not going to settle for another CORPORATE WELFARE pseudo-"reform".


Either it's Single Paye, or else it's the Obama plan (with a VIABLE Public Option and OPEN ENROLLMENT for all private as well as public plans), or it NOTHING AT ALL this year.


Get with the program, Baucus and Schumer, and re-structure your plan to stipulate OPEN ENROLLMENT!!!

[OneBlueSky]

22. another reason it's "not enough" . . .

is that allowing the insurance companies and HMOs to continue to siphon off a third or more of our healthcare dollars in return for providing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in the way of improved or more efficient healthcare will ensure that nothing much will change . . .

things will only change when these "middle men" who take hundreds of billions of dollars and provide nothing in return are removed from the equation entirely . . .

[Faryn Balyncd]

25. You are absolutely right......

And the insurance companies have created a lucrative racket to corral people into buying their overpriced plans. By excluding high risk, unprofitable patients (dumping them to forge it alone or on the taxpayer), the insurance companies create the illusion of a cheaper plan ---- but it is only an illusion because everyone must pay more taxes to support more programs for those denied insurance.......Dumping unprofitable patients on the taxpayer is a large reason they are able to take such a high "administrative" cut. Consequently, only 66% of current healthcare spending goes to actual healthcare.


And that doesn't even mention the inflated fantasy "regular rates" charged people who are denied insurance (250-600% higher than charges paifd by insurance companies) http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Faryn%20Balyncd/1


The lobbyists are now crafting a token public option, with the goal being to protect their racket of segregating the healthiest demographics (to be scalped by the insurance companies while the crippled public option constructed to the advantage of the insurance companies.

[stlsaxman]

23. Feeling the heat, Max? Or, just CYA with a couple hollow words...?

Hoping the prior, but thinking more the latter.