It sounds like Pontius Pilate to me. Pass it on to the Sanhedrin...
I smell a boondoggle. It seems to me the insurance industry and Big Pharma is driving this Opt-Out push in the Senate, since it is obvious they are going to not get their way in the Congress as much as they like. That way, they can lean on the state legislatures and governors. And those entities will be FAR less able than the Federal government to fight back against lobbying by Big Pharma and the insurance companies. The insurance lobby might even save some money - state legislators are probably cheaper to buy than U.S. Senators, even if there are more of them.
In my mind, the decision is just getting pushed back. The Opt-Out seems to be just a cop out by the Senate. They are saying (if I read this correctly), "Screw this. We can just let the states decide."
(more below the fold...)
If any of what I am asking here seems lame and uninformed, please bear with me, folks. Not all of us have time to track everything all the time. Kudos to those who do have the time. I have not been able to keep up with everything that is going on, on the health care Bill in the Senate.
First off, when I first heard of the Opt-Out, I thought it was going to be like they have in Mexico, where I have visited enough to have an idea about their national health care system. In Mexico, everybody has a choice to opt out as individuals - FOR THEMSELVES AND ONLY THEMSELVES. They then can go to any private doctor or clinic or hospital they want to. They stop getting deductions from their paychecks. For EVERYONE else, it is mandatory, paid for by paycheck deductions.
This Opt-Out choice being each state getting to decide for every one of their raised my eyebrows so fast most of the hair landed on top of my head (where it would actually be appreciated).
How in the world do the Senate and White House think that passing approval of this on to the state houses is going to get us a national health system? How is it going to work? Is each state going to have to ratify it before they get the program? Or do they all grandfather in, while the insurance lobby piles their lobbyists into buses and lays siege to 50 state houses, buying up state legislators right and left?
And when Rick Dipshit in Texas says (as he did with stimulus money), "Hell no! MY state ain't gonna do that!" he will be denying Texans the rights the rest of us will have. What kind of United States is THAT?
People living near state borders who can will move into states with the national system. COMPANIES will do the same. Or the opposite. I haven't figured that one out. This will set one state against another.
Creating a national system that isn't national - basically they are making it so Red States and Blue States are two different countries. Even more than they are.
But this all smells of cowardice and buck passing.
I think it is horrible.
If I am misunderstanding or misrepresenting anything here, please let me know. As I said, I am not up to snuff on it all, so maybe I am just not getting it...