Bill will include public option and a co-op, and check out Reid's comments on Snowe

[ProSense]

Reid: Public Option No 'Silver Bullet' But Strong Consensus For Opt-Out

Christina Bellantoni

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced what we've been reporting today - the merged health care bill will include a public option allowing states to opt-out.

"Under this concept states will be able to determine whether the public option works best for them," Reid told reporters. He said it was the "fairest" way to go.

Reid (D-NV) said after "countless hours" of talking to his caucus, there is a "strong consensus" for this plan. He said he will not submit a plan with a triggered public option to the Congressional Budget Office.

<...>

Reid said he was "disappointed" the public option had "frightened" Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) but that he hoped she would "come back."

"I spoke to Olympia on Friday...and at this stage she does not like the public option of any kind. And so, we'll have to move forward on this, and there will come a time I hope, where she sees the wisdom of supporting a health care bill," he said.

He also blasted Republicans, saying he can count the moderates in the GOP on "two fingers."

<...>

He also said "there will be a co-op in this bill."

In the next several hours, Reid will send the CBO a draft bill with alternative provisions on certain issues, to get a range of cost estimates on the plan he'll bring to the floor.

(emphasis added)

[Hissyspit]

1. Fair?

Fair to whom?

[vaberella]

32. It's fair because no Republican will deny their citizens that choice.

It would be utterly ludicrous to do something like that. And if they do it would turn out like the stimulus money, they would be voted out of office or publicly ridiculed for going after it---after the fact of vocally saying they would not.

[flpoljunkie]

2. I'd like to know what kind of co-op? National, regional or state?

[slipslidingaway]

43. Co-op language in the Baucus bill - states ...

starts on page 233 of the bill

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s1796pcs.txt.pdf


"‘‘PART D—FEDERAL PROGRAM FOR HEALTH
2 CARE COOPERATIVES
3 ‘‘SEC. 2251. FEDERAL PROGRAM TO ASSIST ESTABLISH4
MENT AND OPERATION OF NONPROFIT, MEM5
BER-RUN HEALTH INSURANCE ISSUERS.
6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—
7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab8
lish a program to carry out the purposes of this sec9
tion to be known as the Consumer Operated and
10 Oriented Plan (CO-OP) program.
11 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of the CO12
OP program to foster the creation of qualified non13
profit health insurance issuers to offer qualified
14 health benefits plans in the individual and small
15 group markets in the States in which the issuers are
16 licensed to offer such plans..."

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. I commend our President, the Senate Majority Leader, and the Speaker of the House

Our Democratic leadership worked hard, and maybe even fought hard from time to time, but always in a good cause. I am both an idealist AND a realist. I believe that together they will deliver to deliver to the American People the best reform of health care insurance that is politically possible at this moment in our history, and that is saying a great deal. You can not do much better than the best that is possible.

[Aramchek]

31. this post Wins!

[jenmito]

4. Ed Schultz LIKES this. He called it "change we can believe in," saying it was a very

gutsy move by Reid and a victory for progressives! And he went on to say what many of us think-that all politics is local, and if any politicians take AWAY the public option that was given to their state, it will kill them politically.

[xxqqqzme]

6. Agree, the first people in line to sign up will

be the teabaggers' kids. If their red state decides to opt-out, the rethugs are dead AND they will know it.

[jenmito]

7. Yup...

kind of like the RW governors who wanted to opt out of the stimulus money. They ended up not only using it, but trying to take credit for it!

[OneGrassRoot]

19. Interesting...thanks for that. :) n/t

[jenmito]

27. My pleasure. n/t

[damntexdem]

5. Not a Snowe day for the Senate today.

So the PO is too deep for Snowe -- well, her loss (one hopes).

[bertman]

8. Strong concensus for a weak-assed excuse of a bill.

[depakid]

9. Better hold the cheering until we see what the PO actually looks like

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. If only some would hold the condemnation that long

:rofl:

[Cha]

11. That. Ain't. Gonna.

Happen.

[depakid]

14. You know the old saying- the proof of the pudding...

Once we see that- a lot of this is moot....

[Beetwasher]

15. That's What My Proctologist Said

n/t

[Clio the Leo]

28. Or at least not post the SAME condemnation 14 times. ;-) NT

[Beetwasher]

12. No, I Think The Mere Fact That There WILL BE A PO Is Something To Cheer. Period.

Considering all the fucking bullshit we've had to wade through to get here, I'm fucking cheering. From "Oh no, teabaggers are going to win and kill HCR!!!" to "Oh no Coops!!!" to "Oh no, no public option!!!" to "Oh no a trigger!!!" and on and on and on. And guess what? The naysayers were wrong EVERY STEP OF THE WAY and WE were right.


This bill will be far from perfect, but the bottom line is it's an amazing feat of progress considering the forces we are up against.

There is a public option in all the bills. That's something to cheer. Is it perfect? No, far from it. But it's a major step in the right direction and one that will be BUILT upon going forward.

[Parker CA]

13. I agree 100%. Wheels are turning forward.

[depakid]

16. "Oh no Coops!!!"

Maybe that will be all that's in the purported option- that or some insurer run PO deal like Medicare advantage.

If so, there won't be much cheering from me- because those will fail and set back efforts to responsible reform for another decade.

[Beetwasher]

17. Nope

Wrong. Coops never were nor ever have been considered a PO. In fact, there will be a PO AND coops in the Senate bill apparently, offering more choice.

[depakid]

20. I'll wait until I see the language on the PO

[Beetwasher]

22. You Do That

:rofl:

[depakid]

25. That's typically what I do-

I'm interested in effective public policy, not cheering on conjecture.

Been down that road one too many times before.

[Beetwasher]

30. But Slamming On Conjecture

That's ok!

[depakid]

35. I'm actually amused at folks on both sides

The shy is falling- and the whoopie! we won effective policy.

Neither is the case. Yet. Right now, we're still muddling through.

Even then, the likely outcome is a set of half measures- which one would hope- leads incrementally down the line to a two tiered system like Australia's with Medicare for all as "the option" and regulated private insurers for those individuals and businesses that can afford it.

As to the proposed PO everyone's bantering about- we'll have to wait & see what it is and when it comes into play.

If it's sometime in 2013- that's bad news politically for the Dems- who ought to have learned their lesson from the bogus Credit Card Bill. Among others.

[Beetwasher]

37. Actually I'm Amused People Are Acting As If This Is The Final Bill

But this IS something to cheer. We are positioned well going into conference. We are at an historic juncture where we know that meaningful reform WILL be passed. That is cheerworthy.

[depakid]

38. I guess I'm of the skeptic's school with respect to meaningful

We shall see what comes out of conference.

[Beetwasher]

40. We Can Already Say some Things With Certainty That Are Cheerworthy

So I will cheer.

[Clio the Leo]

29. Late tonight, when I'm bored.....

.... I'm gonna go back and read all of the gloom and doom DU posts from this past spring and summer. Should be fun. :)

[quantass]

18. (( A Few Questions ))

1. Reid mentioned states "will have until" 2014 to Opt-Out. Firstly, is he trying to say states will be allowed to Opt-Out AFTER 2014? I'm not comfortable with his wording. Secondly, I didn't hear when the PO will be instigated? I don't want to hear 2013 or early 2014.

2. Whom is the coverage open to? The entire public or only the uninsured?

3. Will there be a mandate?

4. Is the government planning on negotiating rates as a pool in some form?

[Grown2Hate]

21. A question to tack onto that about the public option...

If it is for the "uninsured only", what happens if I lose my current coverage? Can I then buy into the public option?

[quantass]

23. Good question, but my guess...

is one is considered uninsured if they aren't receiving mandatory health insurance from work?

[vaberella]

34. None of the above has been detailed yet since it's being written.

My guess is, that his caucus which will have a lot of house Dems will push for something sooner than 2013----it never made sense to do it that much later. I had originally heard 2011 or so and that was fine by me.

I also don't think it should be open to the entire public. Those who are working or getting health care from their employers should not be on this plan. It's utterly stupid to go on this plan. Most people forget this is BASIC health insurance. In most cases basic health insurance doesn't provide dental when full employer health insurance in most cases does. It's just feasible to leave employer based insurance for the public option. It should be opened to all those on medicaid so they're thrust in that system alongside those who do not have insurance for some reason or other that are not being provided health care from an employer...ie preexisting condition people or self-employed. It minimizes the flood of people into something a bit more manageable for the time being when this organization starts up. This actually correlates to the first----we don't really have the current man power to serve the millions of people who will be placed under it. All that needs to be underway before hand. However it's workable but I can see it taking months. In any event this is the best way and later on--I think I'd put add something that allows independent joining of everyone but currently no. And again nothing beats full coverage when compared to 'basic' coverage.

I think the mandate will be voted out or something else. I personally don't mind the mandate as long as there was no real penalty. Arresting someone seems weird to me. However I would prefer if everyone had some form of insurance.

Negotiating who's rates? I believe it's been said that there will be a pool system of all insurance plans along with a government plan. Or are you suggesting that there is a government plan with different plans in and of itself?

[ind_thinker2]

24. Her Majesty Empress Snowe is frightened! Wow, Riders will be unleased.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

26. Honestly, I have to give Reid a pass on this. Including an opt-out is probably the only way to have

the public option in there in the first place to generate more Blue Dog votes. It's not Harry's fault on this one. The Blue Dogs were not going to vote on a straight-up public option without strings or conditions.

[vaberella]

33. Well that squelches for the time being that Obama made a deal to drop PO if not trigger.

People on this board are disgustingly gullible to fall for all the words of secret santas.

[Sebastian Doyle]

36. FUCK the useless "co-ops"

Co-op = designed to fail.

[fujiyama]

39. Reid may have done well here

I'd hold off on any celebrating though. There's still a way to go considering:

A) Both the House and Senate need to pass their respective version,
B) Get the two merged together and then
C) Actually get passed again for the final vote.

Hopefully none of the trouble making Senators like Landreui, Snowe, Lincoln, Baucus, the Nelsons, Carper, etc. will be able to stop this.

So this is far from over. I'm happy to see no trigger in this bill. That was clearly an excuse to actually not do anything with the appearance of doing so. I am wondering about the co-ops. How does this affect the bill? Is this just an additional option to the public option? Also, what about the mandates? Will states not be able to opt-out after 2014? And finally, for whom will the public option be available for?

A lot of questions still remain. But I'm glad to Reid actually not falling for Snowe's demands just to make this appear to look "bipartisan".

[Phx_Dem]

41. I do believe Sen. Reid just pulled his chestnuts out of the fire

with this health care/P.O. bill. If he gets it passed, he'll get to keep his job.

That sounds fair.

[PopSixSquish]

42. Damn Harry, Quit Trying to Make Me Like You

I believe the kiddies call that being "faced".

Keep it up Mr. Reid...