GOP Senators: Bipartisan Health Deal Tougher Now

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican senators say chances of reaching a bipartisan deal to overhaul health care dimmed after President Barack Obama issued a letter strongly supporting a new public health insurance plan.

A public plan that would compete with private insurers is opposed by nearly all Republicans. Until Wednesday, the administration had been treading lightly on the issue while emphasizing hopes for a bipartisan bill.

That changed when Obama released a letter to two key Senate Democrats saying he believed strongly in the need for a new public plan.

Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming, top Republican on the Senate's health committee, said Thursday that the letter hurts prospects for a bipartisan deal. Other Republican senators made similar comments.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gap9wCaolRYguYQesA2i2Yr98yLgD98K16Q00

[villager]

1. "Oh -- you meant something not pre-approved by insurance companies?"

"Well then, not so much..."

[dgibby]

2. What the hell are they worried about?

Any public plan short of single payer will NEVER compete with the private sector. Ain't. gonna. happen.

[uberblonde]

3. Reform by definition would exclude Republicans!

Am I right?

[sybylla]

6. Good point. n/t

[Old and In the Way]

4. I'm shocked.

BTW, when will every Congressional Republican give up their taxpayer financed public healthcare plan in favor of the private sector plans? I'd love a Democrat to propose just such a bill.

[sybylla]

5. Go ahead, repugs, vote against it.

Let's see how many of you get re-elected next year.

[NC_Nurse]

7. Like it was EVER going to be easy. They are so FOS. Losers. Let's just hope

they don't act defeated in order to get some lame ass compromise bill passed disguised as real reform.

They've got the DINO's to help them with that, I'm afraid.

[november3rd]

8. Too Bad

They get to vote against the bill and still join the public option when it's passed.

[jmondine]

9. Pass it without them, let them filibuster if they can...

... here's some rope, guys. Do what you will.

[Renew Deal]

10. An optional public plan makes perfect sense.

The private corporations can make a profit on healthcare. Why not the public?

[damntexdem]

11. Yeah, bipartisanship of all types is tougher -- so long as there are Republicans.

But it's really impossible if Democrats are going to insist on elements of a plan that might render it actually effective.

[Wednesdays]

12. K&R

:kick:

[Blasphemer]

13. Sounds good to me

What with Obama's letter and Coleman finally being ready to throw in the towel, it's time to get down to business and stop pretending like the GOP actually cares about this country.

[Faryn Balyncd]

14. I'm sorry, Mr. Enzi, but any "reform" that does not meet Obama's minimal requirements (Public Option

......and Open Enrollment) is NOT a reform at all.


Any such pseudo-"reform" such as mandatory insurance with no public option (Wyden plan) OR a crippled public option in which the private plans use pre-existing condition exclusions to deprive Americans of choice while dumping all the unprofitable patients into the public plan (so that insurance corporations can continue raping the healthy for fat profits) NEED TO BE DEFEATED.


We won't settle for garbage that makes true reform more difficult.





K & R

[western mass]

15. We don't WANT a bipartisan health deal

Keep their filthy GOP fingers out of this bill, period.

[w4rma]

16. Good. The vast majority of Republicans in Congress have nothing good to add to the bill. (nt)

[wryter2000]

17. Oh, drat

And they were perfectly willing to cooperate before this. There goes the bipartisanship...

:sarcasm:

[pscot]

18. Bullshit

Their only deal was, "No Deal".

[Arkana]

19. Fine.

They don't want it to be a bipartisan effort? Then we'll make it a PARTISAN effort, motherfuckers.

[Vinca]

20. If there's no public option, they shouldn't even bother.

The Grand No Party carps about having a choice of insurance plans, but they don't want to give us the choice that we want. They'd rather allow a minimum wage insurance clerk to come between a patient and their doctor.

[WhiteTara]

21. like there would have been

bi-partisanship anyway. Lame-asshats they are.