Senator Olympia Snowe qualified her endorsement for the public option by putting it behind a trigger that would only kick in if insurance companies fail expectations.
Let me tell you something Senator. INSURANCE COMPANIES HAVE ALREADY FAILED EXPECTATIONS!!
The current cost of a family policy is $12,000. That's a lot of peanuts to pick, or faucets to fix, or lawns to keep landscaped.
And the insurance companies have stated that they will raise rates 111% over the next ten years, just like they did in the decade past. $24,000 for health insurance. Will you wait until health insurance costs Twenty-four thousand dollars before the trigger kicks in?
But nevermind the future. Right now, at this very moment, they are failing to live up to expectations. When a quarter of the money in goes into profits above and beyond what it costs to run the insurance company, it's already time for the trigger to kick in.
When, in the last 10 years, they have increased rates by 120% and their own profits by 428%, it's already time for the trigger to kick in.