I know we get frustrated when we hear the spineless statements on bipartisianship from Senators like Bauccus, Conrad, Bayh, Reid, etc. And sometimes, the President (still love ya Barack!). But finally, I think we've found a Senator who gets it. I give you Senator Jay Rockefeller.
On Thursday, Senator Rockefeller spoke to the Charleston Gazette. The money quotes:
"I am all for letting insurance companies compete. But I want them to compete in a system that offers real health-care insurance. I call it a public plan," Rockefeller said.
"Back in 1993, all our Veterans Administration hospitals got together and agreed to buy prescription drugs as a group. The next week, the costs of those drugs went down by 50 percent.
"Today, the insurance industry runs this whole deal, spending $1.4 million every day to fight health-insurance reform. The government has a lot of power to lower prices," Rockefeller said.
I think the anger against insurance companies is going to spread," Rockefeller said Thursday. "But a public plan, run by the government, will make sure doctors get paid, hospitals get paid and people get good health care.
"Today, an extra 15 percent, 20 percent or 25 percent [of health-care costs] goes to pay private insurance companies. In a public plan, you just pay for what you get. There are no marketers, no people shuffling paper, no one making television ads."
And, he's realistic:
Rockefeller admitted he expects little bipartisan support.
"There is a very small chance any Republicans will vote for this health-care plan. They were against Medicare and Medicaid [created in the 1960s]. They voted against children's health insurance.
"We have a moral choice. This is a classic case of the good guys versus the bad guys. I know it is not political for me to say that," Rockefeller added.
"But do you want to be non-partisan and get nothing? Or do you want to be partisan and end up with a good health- care plan? That is the choice."
Of course, Rockefeller has made mistakes in the past. But he gets it on health care.
EDIT: This is a bittersweet moment for me. On one hand, I'm happy to make my debut on the rec list, but it's a little disappointing that it comes for a diary linking to someone else's work, rather than for one consisting of my original thoughts. Oh well, I suppose you take whatever success you can get.