Ya know what?? Howard Dean was right..

[fadedrose]

He kept saying all along, including earlier today, that there was going to be a public option. I have the feeling he's been talking to President Obama behind Rahm's back... :)

[DesertFlower]

1. i think he's also

been listening to the people.

don't you think he has aides who read these blogs?

[Beregond2]

2. That's certainly how I heard it.

So why did that idiot commentator on CBS say just the opposite? What speech was he listening to?

[johnaries]

8. That's what I was thinking. How does "I will not back down"

translate to "I'm backing down"? He encouraged those on the Left to listen and consider other options. And if I hear of a better idea than the Public Option I'll support it. I haven't heard one yet. Except, of course, for a single-payer system that has a snowball's chance in hell.

[lovelyrita]

3. What good is a public option if they only people who can

get it are those without insurance? The watered down option is even more watered down and weak.

[SWr]

4. exactly

Just means the rest of us will continue to get SHAFTED with crazy high premiums.

[robo50]

6. And Obama tookl your freedoms to stop paying to be "shafted" away?

What kind of nutty logic are you whining about?

[robo50]

5. I don't know what you are saying.......only people who are powerless

can have power? Oh wait, you have insurance, and want to keep it and still want the public option?

What sense are you making here? It's not clear.

[Lars39]

9. Our premiums are too fucking high.

Is that clear enough for you?

[Jackpine Radical]

10. I think the point is that you can't ditch your existing insurance

in favor of the public option, even if it's a better deal than your private insurance.

[SWr]

11. dense?

He said the PO would be available for THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE COVERAGE.

That means THOSE OF US THAT CURRENTLY DO ... are STILL SCREWED!!!

that = If I have insurance I AM NOT eligible for the PO that = STILL BEING SCREWED BY HIGH PREMIUMS



Is that clear enough for you or do I need to draw a cartoon ... maybe more your speed.

[fadedrose]

14. Your premiums still should go down

He said that there would be a lot of competition and the only way the insurance companies could stay in business would be to cut profits way down and make up for it by insuring more people..

[SWr]

15. but

But the reality of that method is all they will do is chop benefits and lower the price. The higher end

coverages will disappear. And they'll get away with it becuase no one with ins. will be elig. for the PO.

[dflprincess]

27. There is no way premiums are going to go down

you think these crooks don't talk to each other?

I used to work for a small company and sent out for quotes on group insurance for us to a number of companies. Every quote came back the same regardless of the insurance company.

Nothing he talked about tonight guaranteed better access to health care - only forced access to health insurance.

[polichick]

7. If this is what passes, it's very disappointing...

Even my blue dog Congressman was planning to buy into the po plan ~ and so was my family. We'd rather pay into a gov't plan than pay the private insurance companies.

[fadedrose]

12. Have faith. . . .

Obama's base is composed of the poor, not the wealthy, of the uninsured, not the insured...he will provide a USABLE option that anyone can afford, and if they can't, it will be subsidized...wait and see..

[Honeycombe8]

20. The idea is to GET a public option. It can be revised in the future.

If we don't even GET one now, we'll never get it. You've seen how we've been walking through fire this summer over just the possibility of a weak public option.

It is easier to amend a program than to begin one.

Let's get one. THEN worry about expanding it.

[DebJ]

24. Agree 100%. Its the beginning, not the end.

[cliffordu]

30. How do you get from what he said to what you just wrote?

Nembutal??

[debbierlus]

34. And,he left the option right on the table to be thrown off

'Only a means to an end'....

Just one part of a much larger bill....

Compromise and discussion with the repukes.

Wtf?

Did we watch the same speech?

[Fire1]

13. President Obama has ALWAYS BEEN FOR A PUBLIC OPTION!

[D-Lee]

16. Howard Dean is a National Treasurer n/t

[Fire1]

17. Sadly, some folks are determined to turn a 'public option'

into national or universal health coverage.

[fadedrose]

18. It's the first step..

Our system is set up in such a way that there would be turmoil to change it all at once.

[Fire1]

19. "A means to an end." Which makes sense instead of

attempting an overhaul which would be far more costly and take much longer to implement.

[fadedrose]

23. A baby learns to crawl before it walks...nt

[Fire1]

26. I think I concurred, Sherlock. n/t

[fadedrose]

28. Ya, you concurred,

but with the "end justifies the means" thingy, a little bell rang and the baby restored us to more of what I had in mind.

Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like you didn't understand. After all, you are a Democrat, and Dems are smart.

[Honeycombe8]

21. You think? I didn't hear it that way. But I didn't see Howard Dean earlier,

so maybe I didn't understand.

Obama praised and supported a public option as a way to control costs and make ins. cos. accountable, but said if someone else had a way to do that, offer it up, and he'd consider it.

That's stronger than what he has been saying, but it's not "public option" or nothing.

[Clio the Leo]

22. Or with Rahm in the room even.

These men are a LOT less petty than WE are. ;)

[madfloridian]

25. Here's what Reuters has about the speech, and basically what I heard.

http://www.reuters.com/article/americasRegulatoryNews/idUSN0934632320090910

" DOES THE PLAN CREATE A PUBLIC OPTION?

It proposes a not-for-profit government-run healthcare insurance program to be part of new "insurance exchange" and compete with private insurers.

The public option -- which has been strongly resisted by insurance companies -- would be available only to those without insurance. Obama said less than 5 percent of Americans would sign up for it, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates.

The public option would not be taxpayer subsidized, and would have to be self-sufficient and rely on premiums it collects.

The insurance exchange, a marketplace where individuals and small businesses would be able to shop for health insurance, would take effect in four years. Obama said customers would benefit because they would bargain with insurers as a large group. The plan would provide need-based tax credits for those who could not afford insurance from the exchange."

[fadedrose]

29. How long can the insurance companies stay in business

with new regulations that are going to be extremely costly. No businss as usual for these CEO's..

Public option will eventually take over..

[Sebastian Doyle]

31. Well, if millions are suddenly FORCED to buy insurance

That would make up for any possible "losses" the greedy pieces of shit might endure by having some rules enforced on them.

I'm not sure what we heard tonight was really what Dr. Dean had in mind, because I heard a lot more about RomneyHillaryMcCainCare than I did about a true, untriggered public option available to anyone who would choose it.

[fadedrose]

32. And Vice-versa - they'll be forced to sell to people they would have refused before

And if they refuse anyone, they'll be breaking the law, a legal trigger.

They can't make money selling to children with birth defects, people with chronic diseases, etc. They are not used to helping people, only collecting premiums and taking the money to the bank.

[Sebastian Doyle]

33. The only way I could see a justification for leaving insurance companies in charge

is if they were regulated as they are in some European countries (Sweden maybe? Or was it Denmark? Forget which, but Thom Hartmann mentioned this recently) The private companies exist there, but the law states that they cannot be run as a for profit corporation. So you have private entities managing the risk pool, collecting premiums and paying the claims, but no million dollar (or million euro) salaries.

If the greedy US corporations are suddenly "gifted" with millions of reluctantly "mandated" customers, they'll make money from the intake of all that new business, but law of averages says they would be paying out a lot more as well, particularly if they can't refuse pre-existing conditions.

And the billionaire CEO isn't about to lose a dime of his money to pay for that. So premiums will continue to skyrocket, because the greedy SOB's will whine about how much it costs them.

I just don't see a "win" long term here for anybody but the corporatists.