White House Open to Deal on Public Health Plan
By LAURA MECKLER and JANET ADAMY -- JULY 7, 2009 - WSJ
WASHINGTON -- The White House signaled a willingness Monday to compromise on details of a public plan to compete with private insurance companies as negotiators sought ways to advance health-care legislation.
A senior administration official said one way to meet President Barack Obama's goals would be a mechanism under which a public plan is introduced only if the marketplace fails to provide sufficient competition on its own.
Mr. Obama has pushed hard for a public option, saying it will keep the insurance industry honest, but he has also said he won't draw a "line in the sand."
[...]
The jockeying comes as the Senate Finance Committee worked to put together a bipartisan bill. Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) may seal and announce a deal with his Republican counterpart, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, by the end of this week.
http://online.wsj.com/...
OH NO! Not that stupid Trigger Option again!
Enough Already!
Private Insurance has had decades to get it right -- and what are the results?
Record Profits, Tons of Red Tape, Restriction on Pre-existing Illness, Arbitrary Canceling of Policies for Black Listed Illnesses, bankruptcy for those with serious catastrophic illnesses --
And spiraling increases on Customer Premiums, enough to cause Job Lock, and Small Business to fold.
This is Care?
Enough Already!
NO Trigger for the Public Option to take effect, Damn it!!. The American People need a civilized, serious Public Option, like yesterday! Like the rest of the civilized world.
Representatives need to Represent the People who sent them to Washington, because those same People can send them HOME, too!
Chuck Schumer's got it right -- Dem's got 60 Votes, so there's NO NEED to Compromise on the Public Option, anymore!
Schumer: With Franken Seated No Need To Compromise On Public Option
Sam Stein - 07-6-09 - HuffPost
One of the leading Senate Democrats in the health care reform battle said that the seating of Al Franken has given the party the purpose and direction it needs to ensure that a public option for insurance coverage remains in any bill.
"If you did a consensus within the Democratic Party, you would find the level-playing-field public option to be the answer," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. "And now that we have 60 votes, it seems to me like we don't have to turn it inside out for something we don't like."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Why are Senator appeasing the Big Insurers' Needs -- and NOT the urgent Need's of desperate People in their own Districts?
The only reason I can see, is that Insurers pay bipartisans better, than do sick people:
Charles Grassley-R
Max Baucus-D
more well financed senators ... without a care in the world
Senators, WHAT would you and your family DO without YOUR gold-plated Insurance? Think about it!
That Gold-plated Insurance keeping your Family safe, IS a Public Option Plan -- a tax-payer funded Public Plan, at that.
If it's good enough for you, it's good enough for the rest of us -- the rest of us footing your Health Care bills, Senators!
Enough with Compromise already!
Stand up for the People who sent you there!
Senators, Exactly WHO are you Representing, anyways?
it's certainly not the Canceled Cancer Patient or the Canceled too-costly pregnancy. Or the heart patient with more Denied Claims, than money to pay them.
Private Insurers DO NOT deserve a Trigger!
They do not deserve to even be in business -- NOT one Decade longer!
It IS TIME to Draw a Damn Line in the Sand, already!!!!
It is TIME for Change, we CAN Believe in!
========== Update 1 =============
WSJ updated their original story, to include more specifics, including the Source of the "trial balloon"...
White House Open to Deal on Public Health Plan
By LAURA MECKLER and JANET ADAMY - JULY 7, 2009 - WSJ
WASHINGTON -- It is more important that health-care legislation inject stiff competition among insurance plans than it is for Congress to create a pure government-run option, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Monday.
[...]
One of the most contentious issues is whether to create a public health-insurance plan to compete with private companies.
Mr. Emanuel said one of several ways to meet President Barack Obama's goals is a mechanism under which a public plan is introduced only if the marketplace fails to provide sufficient competition on its own. He noted that congressional Republicans crafted a similar trigger mechanism when they created a prescription-drug benefit for Medicare in 2003. In that case, private competition has been judged sufficient and the public option has never gone into effect.
Mr. Obama has pushed hard for a vigorous public option. But he has also said he won't draw a "line in the sand" over this point.
http://online.wsj.com/...
Looking more serious to me ...
