Democrats treading lightly on Biden's next big health care promise

[DonViejo]

After making good on their promise to expand Obamacare, Democrats are weighing a divisive fight over the public option.

By ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN and JOANNE KENEN

03/16/2021 07:55 PM EDT

Fresh off securing the first big upgrade to Obamacare since its 2010 passage, Democrats are eyeing a much heavier and politically riskier lift: creating a government-run public health insurance option.

President Joe Biden campaigned on the idea, touting it as an achievable reform that would bring down costs without upending private health insurance. It consistently polls well across the political spectrum.

Yet the obstacles are many: universal opposition from Republican lawmakers, reluctance among centrist Democrats who wield outsized influence, a powerful health industry ready to spend big to block it, and a long list of priorities for a new administration still pouring energy and political capital into ending the pandemic.

But Democratic lawmakers and allies favoring a public option to compete with private insurers want the party to seize on its narrow congressional majorities to muscle through an idea that’s long been popular with the base. They’re betting that after years of rising health costs and the GOP’s failed attempts to throw out Obamacare, voters in the tightly contested 2022 midterms would reward Democrats for tackling health care costs.

more
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/16/public-option-health-care-biden-476458

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I know the odds are long, but I hope we can do this.

It may be a long time before we get another chance. And we need that public option now.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

2. Although I very much want a public option TOO, a bill to limit the profit margins on Rx drugs

Might be an easier lift, and a HELL of a lot of people out there pay for Rx drugs out-of-pocket and HATE how much they cost.

Make the GOP go on the record and say they oppose limiting the profit margin to, say, a 50% markup after all costs are considered. Or even 100%. Cause a LOT of common drugs (and less common but uber-expensive) out there are going for way in excess of 100% margins. What I mean is, even limiting profit to 100% margin (which is higher than a LOT of products) would lower prices in a ton of instances.

Maybe like 50% max if significant tax dollars went into creating the drug, and 100% if the drug company created it entirely on their own, something like that?

Democrats could earn a lot of goodwill by actually lowering Rx costs, as long as they MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW THEY DID IT.

I would try to do that first, while also working on the public option.

You see, these sorts of things don't come off like 'giveaways', though their end result IS sort-of one for the consumer. But it feels like 'fair' not like 'welfare', if that makes sense. People like stuff like this.