In a letter under the Congressional Progressive Caucus letterhead signed by eight representatives to Speaker Pelosi, the caucus came out strongly today against any weakening of the public option.
The caucus wrote that "for our continued support" the public option cannot be based on any trigger and would have to be available immediately. They also said, "We cannot tolerate any further weakening of the public option." The letter also set out other requirements.
(I saw this on Talking Points Memo but haven't seen it in a diary here. So figured it was worth posting.)
Key excerpt from the letter below the fold.
From the Progressive Caucus letter:
We want to assure you that for our continued support, the public option must not be based on any trigger and must be available immediately. Further, the public plan must be on a level playing field and receive the same subsidies as private plans in the Health Exchange. And, it must be connected to the Medicare infrastructure, including the provider and payment system. Allowing providers to opt out of the public option has already created a loss of $91 billion in savings. We cannot tolerate further weakening of the public option.