Can somebody PLEASE tell me why the citizens of Texas shouldn't be...

[kjackson227]

totally pissed at this opt-out part of the Public Option??? Am I making too much of this? I'm feeling really betrayed by my party right about now, so if ANYONE here can help me to settle down and help me see the significance in this then PLEASE FEEL FREE TO IMMEDIATELY CHIME IN.

[Jane Austin]

1. I like it, because the republicans will either have to join the

national plan or explain to Texans why we're having to pay more than people in other states.

The 2010 races for the legislature should be interesting, with Dems promising to opt-in and republicans promising . . . what?

This could tip the balance in the lege to us Dems, which should be a vast improvement over the current situation.

Meanwhile, we'll be in the program for a couple of years and those of us with private insurance won't be canceled because we're sick or be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

[kjackson227]

4. But , Jane, the Republicans couldn't care less about what we, the...

middle-class/working poor thinks of them. The only constituents they care about are their affluent supporters, and to hell with everybody else. This governor doesn't care that we're at the bottom of the list when it comes to insuring and educating our children, so why do you think he would even care or feel the need to explain why we're having to pay more for insurance? That idiot would think of it as some type of honor. I understand that the two years will give us a chance to get our house in order, but I still think it's unfair to divide the party in this way.

[svpadgham]

2. You know how helmet head is...

He'll rail against it publicly but accept the funding on the D-L.

[sonias]

3. I think it's a bad idea too

Makes no sense to let the states that need the public option the most (the south) to opt out. I agree it may be a trap for the republicans in the long run since the costs of health care in the states that opt out will go up with no Federal help anyway. But in the short run - people in the south get screwed in the health care area.

It would be like passing the voting rights act in 1964 but letting the south "opt out". Oh yeah that would have worked out peachy for us.:grr:

Sonia

[kjackson227]

5. Thanks, Sonia, I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one upset about this...

what a slap in the face.

[Jane Austin]

6. I don't see it that way at all. .............. n/t

[kjackson227]

9. Well, I ABSOLUTELY hope you're right. OFA called and invited...

me to canvass this Saturday, and at first I told the guy that I would, but after listening to Countdown and how the Dems are leaning towards this opt-out, I called back and told them I didn't appreciate the fact that states would be able to opt-out. I told her that this is discriminatory to citizens in Texas. She said that it was just hype from the media, and they are pushing for a STRONG Public Option. I then told her that we have to make sure to tell the Administration that we do want a Public Option, but we want one WITHOUT an opt-out provision. She then said that we have to keep fightiing. I'm sick and tired of FIGHTING (especially my own party). If they choose this opt-out clause, that's it for me. It's bad enough that we get overlooked by the Dems. when we have our elections, but this is the last straw. After sleeping on it last night, I will continue to vote, but I most definitely will not donate any more money, or my time to the Democratic party. I'll consider myself an Independent from now on.

[WolverineDG]

8. We need to make this the new meme

get your pens out & call the radio shows....Ed, Stephanie, Bill Press, etc.....Letting the South "opt out" of Medicare Part E is like letting them opt out of the Civil Rights Act.

dg

[kjackson227]

10. I agree 110%. Americans in red states are going to have to...

make sure that our red state voices are heard over the next week or two. I'll be contacting Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson today, and also the media. I'm going to locate and post contact information here and in the GD later this morning.

[Jane Austin]

12. Americans in red states are also

going to have to learn to quit putting republicans in office.

[kjackson227]

13. ...AND our Democratic voters are going to have to GET OUT AND VOTE MORE!

We've got the numbers.

[mbperrin]

14. Very well put. And totally apropos.

But will we ever at least talk about single payer universal?

[onestepforward]

7. I don't like it either.

Health care is too important and critical to leave it to partisan Governors (Southerners) who will just play politics with it and say "NO!" just like they've been doing since Obama became President.

I don't think that there will be an opt-out though. There isn't a state opt-out for Medicare. Just a strong feeling, but I hope I'm right.

[kjackson227]

11. Yep, you're right. And what happened to the oversight that the...

WH was going to perform in order to keep states like ours "honest"??? I remember hearing a few weeks ago that our state is lagging behind and/or dragging their feet in administering unemployment compensation, and S-chip applications. I know there's a lot of people applying, but I also know how the red states treat it's poor people, also.

[onestepforward]

17. I guess I'm just too optimistic

Reid just announced there will be a state opt-out. It sounds like all states will have the public option, if passed, for 4 years, then they can opt-out. This puts even greater importance on electing a Democratic governor and congress for Texas.

[kjackson227]

18. Thanks for more info. I only heard that states had the option...

to opt-out until 2014. If we have it for at four years (I thought Ed stated that all states would have it for one year), then we should be okay. You're right, this does give us time to get out the vote in order to turn Texas blue.

[sonias]

19. I think the opt-out for Medicare does exist but no state does it

Apparently there is an opt-out for Medicare but none of the states do it. Well alright then. If we just have to fake the opt-out to pass the bill, this might work.

Huffington Post 10/26/09
Reid: "The Public Option With An Opt-Out Is The One That's Fair"
(snip)
Progressives oppose the opt-out provision that Reid intends to include to win conservative support, arguing that Americans in conservative states that may opt out are in just as much need of a public option as are residents of blue states.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican leader from Tennessee, said on the Senate floor Monday, in advance of Reid's announcement, that the opt-out provision isn't to be taken seriously. Medicaid, he noted, has an opt-out provision, but not one state has opted out. Public health insurance, in other words, is too popular for states to opt out.

At a meeting at the White House on Thursday evening, Reid told the president that he intended to push forward with the national public option with an opt-out provision. Obama, several sources said, indicated a preference for a "trigger" instead: the public option would only be brought into existence if the insurance industry failed to meet certain criteria in a certain period of time.

Now if we can only keep the blue dog Dems from joining the other side, there might be hope.

Sonia

[onestepforward]

20. Wow. I didn't know that about Medicare.

That does give us a little more hope then. :)

[Justitia]

22. That's MedicAID, not MediCARE. -eom

[Justitia]

21. That's MEDICAID, not MediCARE. And TX does NOT fully participate in Medicaid.

In fact, I believe TX is the state that participates the least (the very bare minimum) in Medicaid.

Medicaid is not solely a federal program (but Medicare is), that is how TX gets away with not fully participating.
It is a joint program between the fed gov't & the state.

So, we will be absolutely screwed by the "opt out" provision, the same way Medicaid recipients are in Texas.
My son is one of them.

My sister in PA is enrolled in Medicaid in her state. Her Medicaid benefits in PA are VASTLY different from my son's benefits in TX.

[sonias]

26. Thanks for the clarification.

Yep I missed that.

Sonia

[Beststash]

15. Sorry Folks but we will get

exactly what we deserve when we continue to vote idiots into office in this state. It seems that our ognorance is only surpassed by our racism. Living in rural Texas is like living in the dark ages.....and we are damn proud of it!!

Peace

[kjackson227]

16. So true. But, don't limit the racism to rural areas, it's everywhere...

but we've got to get out and vote more. Maybe this will "trigger" some to do just that. This is the key to turning this state blue, imho.

[Justitia]

23. Texans should be VERY concerned. We will have gained nothing w/this "opt out" fiasco.

Does anyone seriously doubt we will see a race between Guv Goodhair and KBH as to who can "opt out" the fastest?

And DU Dems are just telling us "too bad", "move out of TX", "elect Democrats", as if this is actually helpful.

This IS a huge slap in the face to the most vulnerable.

We have the highest number of uninsured in the nation and this will do ZERO to help them.
And our Democratic brethren say it's all our own fault.

This absolutely sucks. Did LBJ allow an "opt out" for Medicare or Civil Rights????

[onestepforward]

25. I hear you.

I too am deeply concerned.

[onestepforward]

24. Hank Gilbert's remarks on Reid's announcement

http://hankgilbert.com/2009/10/hank-gilbert-on-majority-leader-reid%E2%80%99s-public-option-announcement/">HankGilbert.com

“Contrary to the rightwing noise-boxes that manage to get themselves on television and radio in Texas, Texans overwhelmingly favor legislation which would include a public option.

The Senate’s bill contains provisions which will allow states to “opt out” of the public option. What this means for Texas largely depends upon who the governor is and the make up of the Texas Legislature after the plan passes. If we have Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison, or any of my other opponents, it will be nothing more than remaining at the status quo for us.

I favor the public option. Due to monopolies in many states and other non-competitive practices, there is no other realistic way to force the insurance companies to actually increase efficiency. There is no other way to make sure that everyone has access to affordable coverage which must be a key in any plan to unburden local and state governments from having to pay for indigent care.”

Listed below his statement is a very informative "Fact Sheet" that has some really good stats and information about health care in Texas.

[kjackson227]

28. All of us had better get to work in trying to get Mr. Gilbert elected...

If the voters are paying ATTENTION, then it shouldn't be that hard- if we want the public option, then get out and VOTE for Hank Gilbert. I think we should start donating until it HURTS so that we can get this man the media attention that he needs. I'll be donating as soon as I get paid on Thursday.

[sonias]

27. Very interesting take on this on TMP

Talking Points Memo 10/26/09
So What Is the 'Opt-Out' Compromise?
(snip)
It's certainly a problem that a substantial number of Americans -- probably in red states -- would lack the public option. But by making it an opt-out rather than an opt-in, you start with a truly national program. That's the key. The default is everyone is in. Even if you had 1/3 or even, conceivably half the states (or half the total national population in however many states) opt out, you'd still have enough heft to make it have the desired effect. And presumably you'd have by far most of the population in the program.

So that's the starting point. While it's not ideal, an opt-out gives you the reality of a public option whereas the other compromises give you things that superficially sound similar but actually don't accomplish the same purpose. This was my sense of the policy dynamics when I first heard about it. And I have what I think of as a decent layman's understanding of health care policy questions. But since the idea was floated early this month I've made an effort to canvass the views of the people who I consider most knowledgeable on these questions. And I think I'm on solid ground in saying that there is a consensus among the people who understand these issue best on the reform side that this is a good pragmatic compromise that may not be perfect but gets you most of what the public option concept is meant to accomplish.

Equally important is the politics. In two key ways the 'opt-out' flipped the political dynamics entirely. A big argument from Republicans was that the public option would force people into 'government health care' or in various other ways destroy the universe. The opt-out just says: 'fine, then don't allow it in your state. Next ...' That takes a lot of the wind out of the sails of that argument. And, more pointedly, conservative and moderate Dems who were afraid of voting for the full public option seem to think that this gives them sufficient cover to vote for it -- at least for the procedural 60 vote threshold, if not for the bill itself, which will take 50 votes. But that's all that's really necessary: getting past cloture.

Also keep in mind that every state is in at the beginning. You can't opt out until 2012. So the states are going to be in a bad position of taking away something that people had. Might be a tougher thing for them to do. I've also heard that it would take a 2/3 vote in the state legislature and that might be tough in Texas. The Ds control almost half of the votes in the House and slightly more than 1/3 in the Senate. Even with the conservative Ds in the House Texas might not get the 2/3 vote to opt out.

BOR 10/26/09
Opt-Out Public Option Proceeds in Senate

(snip)
Apparently, the opt-out will require a 2/3 vote of the state legislature, with the governor able to veto an opt-out. We don't have a link for this yet, but that's what folks close to the process are suggesting to Burnt Orange Report.

While I don't necessarily like an "opt-out" clause in the bill, at least the bill has a public option and this bill may survice the cloture vote. Gives those damn blue Democrat dogs cover. Spineless bastards!

Sonia