White House drops ‘public option’ from must-do list
The week starts off with widely reported news that the White House is backing off from its insistence on a so-called public option, the government-run health-insurance plan designed to compete with private plans. As the Washington Post reports, the development came out of the Sunday talk-show circuit:
… Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius opened the door to a compromise on a public option, saying it is “not the essential element” of comprehensive reform. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Obama “will be satisfied” if the private insurance market has “choice and competition.”
And as the New York Times observes:
“For Mr. Obama, giving up on the public plan would have risks and rewards. The reward is that he could punch a hole in Republican arguments that he wants a “government takeover” of health care and possibly win some Republican votes. The risk is that he could alienate liberal Democrats, whose support he will also need to pass a bill…
On Capitol Hill, the Senate Finance Committee is expected to produce a bill that features a nonprofit co-op. The author of the idea, Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota and chairman of the Budget Committee, predicted Sunday that Mr. Obama would have no choice but to drop the public option.
“The fact of the matter is, there are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option,” Mr. Conrad said on “Fox News Sunday.” “There never have been. So to continue to chase that rabbit, I think, is just a wasted effort.”
The co-op, modeled after rural electric and agricultural cooperatives in Mr. Conrad’s home state, would offer insurance through a nonprofit, nongovernmental consumer entity run by its members. Mr. Axelrod said one downside of a co-op, from Mr. Obama’s point of view, was that it might be unable to “scale up in such a way that would create a robust” competitor to private insurers.
And whether a co-operative would actually bring Republicans on board with Mr. Obama is unclear. Senator Richard C. Shelby, the Alabama Republican who appeared alongside Mr. Conrad on “Fox News Sunday,” called the co-op idea “a step in the right direction,” adding: “I don’t know if it will do everything people want, but we ought to look at it. I think it’s a far cry from the original proposals.”
I’d disagree strongly with one part of the Times piece, the statement that “whether a co-operative would actually bring Republicans on board with Mr. Obama is unclear.” It is quite clear that nothing Obama could do would bring Republicans on board. At this point, the fight is less about the details of health care policy than about winning and losing, about using health care as a cudgel with which to bash the Obama administration into a political coma.
I don’t believe it will work, but that is clearly the hope and intent.
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291 comments Add your comment
I Report/ I Am The Mob (-: You Whine )-:
August 17th, 2009
7:13 am
The reward is that he could punch a hole in Republican arguments that he wants a “government takeover” of health care and possibly win some Republican votes.
Any sort of government meddling in the health care industry is a “takeover.”
If you want reform, then reform the trial lawyers.
mike
August 17th, 2009
7:16 am
“At this point, the fight is less about the details of health care policy than about winning and losing, about using health care as a cudgel with which to bash the Obama administration into a political coma.”
Wahhhh.
Jay just basically described the sole purpose of his blog over the last eight years.
Maybe if Jay wanted to use his blog to be meaningful, he could use it to make the case for Obama’s health care program instead of using it as a cudgel with which to bash Republicans.
Turd Ferguson
August 17th, 2009
7:23 am
“One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. . . . Now, the American people, if you put it to them about socialized medicine and gave them a chance to choose, would unhesitatingly vote against it.” – Ronald Reagan
Finn McCool
August 17th, 2009
7:24 am
Shouldn’t you wingnuts get back to planning your next abortion clinic shooting or federal building bombing?
Isn’t health care really just a summer distraction for your true intentions?
Bud Wiser
August 17th, 2009
7:27 am
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is willing to embrace insurance cooperatives over a government-run plan as the White House faces mounting opposition to its broad overhaul of the nation’s health care system.
Bowing to Republican pressure and offering political cover to fiscally conservative Democrats, Obama’s administration signaled on Sunday that it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance. The shift leaves open a chance for compromise with Republicans that probably would enrage Obama’s liberal supporters (Not that it takes much to make the stupid very angry about what they are too ignorant to fully understand, but I digress…) but could deliver a much-needed victory on a top domestic priority.
After the Apology Tours, degradation of America overseas by Obowo and his alleged SecState, plus all of the other liberal ignorance he has displayed since his ‘ordination’, I guess the fool actually does now NEED a victory of sorts, and not something achieved by just ramming it down America’s throat.
Oh well, his performance to date is only assuring future Conservative gains in both Houses, because America is speaking back, and they are speaking louder. The Independents are increasingly horrified by what they did last November, the drooling masses and 94%ers are still too stubborn and/or stupid to see it, or care.
Bud Wiser
August 17th, 2009
7:29 am
Uh Finn, be careful. That kind of talk will be reported to th WH Gestapo.
Turd Ferguson
August 17th, 2009
7:30 am
The issue isnt about Healthcare or OboboCare.
The issue is about Socialized Medicine.
The issue is about giving more rights to illegals who deserve no rights.
The issue is about paying ones bills.
The issue is about cuts in benefits for the elderly.
The issue is about this govt WASTING too much money already.
The issue is about Congresspersons voting for something they havent read.
The biggest issue is about PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!!
RB from Gwinnett
August 17th, 2009
7:30 am
“the fight is less about the details of health care policy than about winning and losing, about using health care as a cudgel with which to bash the Obama administration into a political coma.”
Jay, you’re a partisan hack. That statement explains quite clearly the problem with you and those like you. You’re unwilling, not unable, but unwilling to understand the thoughts and desires of those who don’t share your views. If you introduce yourself as a journalist, you should stop.
RW-(the original)
August 17th, 2009
7:31 am
Jay B,
This trend of bolding the excerpts is really annoying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I guess they’ve gone to the Carville option. He says the Dems should put a bad bill out there and let the Republicans kill the bad bill, then tar and feather them as the party of no. Real productive, dontcha think?
Turd Ferguson
August 17th, 2009
7:33 am
SO…Godzee, Finnius McCoolAid, Midori…did any of you show your compassion this weekend by visiting Woodruff Park, loading up a mini-van full of unfortunates and taking them home for a food, bath and clothing giveaway?
Instead of expecting the govt to do it, did any of the liberals put their money where their mouths are?
Didnt think so!
RW-(the original)
August 17th, 2009
7:35 am
Bud,
The White House probably agrees with that 7:24. It’ll be interesting to see if the blog host treats it the same way he would the other side of that coin though.
mike
August 17th, 2009
7:36 am
Finn –
“Shouldn’t you wingnuts get back to planning your next abortion clinic shooting or federal building bombing?”
Yes because anyone who does not share your ultra-narrow views on healthcare must be a violent loner.
Thanks for demonstrating why this effort is failing. Instead of anyone on the left making a case for the reform, they stick to what they know: baseless ad-hominem attacks.
Turd Ferguson
August 17th, 2009
7:37 am
Here is why OboboCare and/or most govt programs dont work…
Auto Dealers Paid for Just 2 Percent of ‘Clunkers’ Claims, Congressman Says
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/16/auto-dealers-paid-just-percent-clunkers-claims-congressman-says/?test=latestnews
USinUK
August 17th, 2009
7:39 am
“Now, the American people, if you put it to them about socialized medicine and gave them a chance to choose, would unhesitatingly vote against it.” – Ronald Reagan
and, according to the CDC the 1980s were the last times when you saw 80% of people under 65 with insurance coverage. in other words, when Reagan made the above quote, there wasn’t the NEED for single-payer health care that there is, today.
additionally, in the 1980s you didn’t have the same exponential cost increases for health insurance that you have today.
so, you can take your RR quote and put it where the sun don’t shine … it’s a much different world now than it was then.
TnGelding
August 17th, 2009
7:41 am
Shoot the rabbit!
I think it would bring a few Republicans along. Adding tort reform would get a few more.
You’re probably right about most of them Jay, but I think there are still a few that put country above party. Even Johnny showed he wasn’t above it, and we libs put him in office.
TnGelding
August 17th, 2009
7:42 am
Turd Ferguson
August 17th, 2009
7:33 am
There’s enough need out there for both.
FrankLeeDarling
August 17th, 2009
7:43 am
public option now.After watching the Sunday news programs I think the main thing republicans fear is that a public option plan would work.
Paul
August 17th, 2009
7:46 am
Jay,
From Roll Call, July 30, speaking of the Senate Finance Committee’s Gang of Six: “The three Republicans oppose the public insurance option. However, they believe the co-op proposal might offer an acceptable compromise.”
Given the number of progressive-liberal Dems who’ve said they won’t support reform if a public option isn’t included – it’d be ironic if health care reform was killed by ideological Democrats who want it their way or no way.
Couldn’t they just pretend the issue is Iraq and let it slide?
TnGelding
August 17th, 2009
7:47 am
Turd Ferguson
August 17th, 2009
7:37 am
They’ll be paid within 90 days. Sounds like the dealers can’t fill out the paper work. The volume of government programs makes them difficult to carry out.
joe matarotz
August 17th, 2009
7:47 am
If it’s being dropped, does that mean it’s really not important? If it was, why wouldn’t Obama go on tv the way Perot did and explain it clearly? If it truly is the answer to our health care woes, why isn’t he sticking to his priciples? Hmmm…
Peadawg
August 17th, 2009
7:49 am
Thank goodness! This Monday just got better…what a great day in American history!
RB from Gwinnett
August 17th, 2009
7:51 am
Turd, I have a friend who works for a car dealer in Greenville, SC. They’ve sold about 100 cars on the CFC plan and have not received one dime from Obama for it. The $400k+ they’re carrying on their receivables is killing them.
But what does Obama care? He’d probably be happy to put yet another small business out of business and just set the government up to sell the cars their new car manufacturers make.
I’m sure they would do much better handling healthcare though. Like they do with so many other things.
Paul
August 17th, 2009
7:57 am
So let me get this straight:
There are a number of Democrats, both in Congress and out, who would give up on:
- having people with preexisting conditions get health insurance
- prohibiting insurance companies from dropping people when they get sick
- any agreement with Big Pharma over reducing costs
- reducing the time it takes to get generics to market
etc etc etc
solely because they won’t get their way on a public option?!!?
It’s Big Picture time, folks -
NRB
August 17th, 2009
7:59 am
Oh Jay, wipe the slobber from your little pointy chin.
If you thought this fight was bad, just wait until next year when Oblahmi tries to “reform” immigration…”reform” being a code word for “legalization of the ten million or so foreign invaders of this country”.
Then again, now that he can’t offer them “free healthcare” he may not bother.
Also, how come Obama is still sending our troops to die for oil in Afghanistan?
Where’s all the liberals marching in the streets carrying along signs saying “bring our boys home!”
Or was that all just about about using war as a cudgel with which to bash the Bush administration into a political coma?
Finn McCool
August 17th, 2009
8:00 am
Turd and RB, if the governmet rushes out and pays every auto claim without verifying and substantiating then you will be in here claiming they are just throwing tax payer money around like sailors in port.
And when they start publishing the pecentage that are fraudulent because they were paying the money out to fast you will be saying “oh, they should have checked every one of those claims out and substantiating every thing — these are our tax dollars!!!”
So, your point is pretty dumb.
Mrs. Godzilla
August 17th, 2009
8:01 am
Reports of the demise of the public option on healthcare are greatly
exaggerated…..isn’t this the third time the media has run with this meme.
“”Speaking to CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs emphasized that President Barack Obama still supports having a “public option” for health care, which the White House believes will introduce additional competition and lower prices in the insurance market.”"
MadMadWorld
August 17th, 2009
8:02 am
BLACK MAN ADMITS TO POSING AS OBAMA-HATING WHITE SUPREMACIST ON FACEBOOK
Friday, August 14, 2009
NEW ORLEANS — An African-American man from Mississippi admits posing as a white supremacist to send a death threat across state lines by Facebook.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 20-year-old Dyron L. Hart of Poplarville pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to making a threat in November 2008.
Hart admitted creating a name and using a white supremacists’ photo to pose as a white man who planned to kill blacks because Barack Obama had been elected president.
He originally was charged with threatening three black students at Nicholls State — where he had attended one semester — but pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count.
He sent the threats from a computer in Poplarville.
The maximum sentence is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; sentencing is Nov. 18.
NRB
August 17th, 2009
8:04 am
I wonder if that Facebook guy was anywhere near D. Scott’s office last week? Hmmm..
Paul
August 17th, 2009
8:05 am
RB from Gwinnett
It may be the auto dealers fall within the scope of ‘commercial vendors’ under the Prompt Payment Act and therefore will get paid in about a month from submitting their paperwork.
I would have hoped Congress would have specifically excluded that provision, but you know Congress…
Fred
August 17th, 2009
8:05 am
First they keep single payer out of the debate then they drop the public option…If you would like to help pressure Congress to pass single payer health care in a democratic and constructive way please join our voting bloc at:
http://www.votingbloc.org/Health_Bloc.php
Doggone/GA
August 17th, 2009
8:05 am
MMW – try to keep up. That was posted here AT LEAST a week ago, several times. Old news is no news.
RW-(the original)
August 17th, 2009
8:05 am
Paul,
I read an interesting piece about preexisting conditions this weekend that shows why I agree with President Obama that we need to get away from employer based insurance. Of course I go 180 degrees away from him on where we should turn but I digress.
The basic premise was that if I’m covered by an employer plan and come down with some malady everything is taken care of, but if I lose that job and try to get other insurance I now have a preexisting condition that won’t be covered even though I played by the existing rules. It’s not fair to me but it’s perfectly understandable from the new insurers point of view.
Turd Ferguson
August 17th, 2009
8:07 am
The point is Cash for Clunkers was a silly idea with zero long term growth potential. Nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
The point is Cash for Clunkers is like any other govt program. Inefficient and yes probably will have tons of fraudulent reimbursement claims. So we now can agree, from A to Z, cash for clunkers is a clunker.
Glad we agree on something Finnius McCoolAid.
NRB
August 17th, 2009
8:07 am
Keep dreaming, Fred.
Paul
August 17th, 2009
8:09 am
NRB 7:59
Afghanistan has oil?
G’morning, Mrs. Godzilla
While Pres Obama my support it in theory, some, such as Sen Conrad, note their are not the votes in the Senate to pass a bill with such an option. If the objective is to provide coverage for uninsured, then a public option is only one means to that goal. If other means will reach the goal, they should be considered.
RW-(the original)
August 17th, 2009
8:10 am
TF,
The top 10 CfC models being turned in are American made vehicles and 6 of the top 10 being sold are foreign.
Finn McCool
August 17th, 2009
8:12 am
Turd, the only reason you don’t like cash for clunkers is because you can’t take advantage of the handout. Cash for clunkers is a program for middle, working, and lower class people.
Why are you afraid of those people getting a little leg up? The handouts for small business owners, middle class folks (tax breaks), and the wealthy (tax breaks) are ok, but not for the little people?
By definition, aren’t all handouts, in your words, “zero long term growth potential”?
Paul
August 17th, 2009
8:12 am
RW-(the original)
Which is why so many people who are satisfied with their insurance support reform measures, because, as you pointed out, they could be next.
Or their employer could change the policies offered and certain procedures could be excluded or very high copays or deductibles could come into play.
If Dems hold fast and vote against reform because it doesn’t include the one method they’ve hung their hat on, many Americans are going to question the mantra “Republicans are for big business, Democrats are for the people.”
stands for decibels
August 17th, 2009
8:12 am
USinUK, actually that quote cited by Turd appears to be from 1961, when Ronnie Reagan was but a paid corporate spokesmodel railing against the evils of Medicare.
(as opposed to when he was but a paid corporate spokesmodel playing President, later on.)
Wow
August 17th, 2009
8:19 am
Democrats are so weak. Like republicans ever modified a plan to appease them. Republicans still won’t vote for the plan. For Conrad to say they don’t have the votes!?!?! What happened in Nov. 2008? They are scared of their own shadow.
NRB
August 17th, 2009
8:20 am
Paul@8:09 am
Of course not. But we weren’t in Iraq for oil, either…though they do of course have it.
But facts never stopped the liberal anti-war storm troopers.
The only thing that stopped the anti-war protesters was Obama winning the election.
Doesn’t matter that we’re still at war..
Of course, the hypocritical Demo-rats just claim “well I’m for the war in Afghanistan not the one in Iraq”….
Never minding the fact that all those anti-war signs said “bring our boys home”…I never saw a sign that said “send our boys to Afghanistan”…
Oh well, I just have to chock it all up to typical Demoncrap hypocrisy.
carly
August 17th, 2009
8:21 am
Public option is not dead yet. There is an interesting post on the insurance industry’s manipulation of the debate at http://iamsoannoyed.com/?page_id=588
Kamchak
August 17th, 2009
8:21 am
If you thought this fight was bad, just wait until next year when Oblahmi tries to “reform” immigration…”reform being a code word for “legalization of the ten million or so foreign invaders of this country.”
You’re about 13 years too late sport. Reagan signed the guest worker program bill in 1986.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
August 17th, 2009
8:22 am
Well, all I got to say is it’s a jungle out there and you live or die by how good you deal with it. If God had of wanted all these poor people to have health insurance they would of been born with a little insurance policy in their hands. So trying to give everybody health insurance is going against God’s Will.
I know radicals like this Ms. Godzilla and Midori and Finn McCool and getalife and DB or whatever he calls hisself these days would like to sock all of us with everybody’s health insurance bill. But I say don’t change much if anything. Let them make these co-ops and the insurance cos. will stomp them like a roach. The guvmint will just be wasting time and alot of money. In two years, tops, things will be right back where they are now.
Anyhow, it ain’t our fault people are too poor to pay Drs. So I go along with Sister Dusty and the Whiner and Turd Ferguson the Lemonade Ruiner and others that say don’t change a thing. We got our health care. Let people that don’t got it find a way to get it on their own. What these libruls are trying to do is downright unChristian and Socialist besides.
Have a good day everybody.
Kamchak
August 17th, 2009
8:23 am
Oops–make that 23 years too late.
USinUK
August 17th, 2009
8:24 am
dB –
g’morning! I thought about you and Normal yesterday … at 2:30 we had a gorgeous flyover: 2 Hurricanes and a Lancaster Bomber … absolutely gorgeous
I still can’t imagine what it must have felt like to hear huge squadrons of them fly out every night – I mean, one Lancaster was loud enough that you could feel it … what must 20+ (plus Spitfires plus Hurricanes, etc) have felt like???
I’m not a plane fanatic, but there really is something about the WWII planes that is just … I dunno … magical? stirring? they seem to fall right in that cusp between the rudimentary planes from WWI and the flash planes that we have now … for instance, the Spitfire is sleek and minimal but isn’t too over-the-top 20th century flash.
at any rate, the sky was a gorgeous blue with puffy white clouds – a perfect day to watch these guys in action …
Turd Ferguson
August 17th, 2009
8:24 am
By definition I believe the proper classification would be middle class…whatever difference it makes. And these middle working and lower class people would do well to keep the clunker for which they have the TITLE.
Now is not the time to be purchasing a NEW CAR with only 72 easy payments.
Paul
August 17th, 2009
8:25 am
NRB
Thanks. I didn’t pick up on the sarcasm in the earlier post -
Taxpayer
August 17th, 2009
8:26 am
I think that an appropriate way to “seed” these coops would be to take all elected officials and other government employees that currently get health insurance via the taxpayer and place them in these coops. After all, why should we fund even more arrangements with taxpayer money than we already have. How many variations on a theme do we need in order to make Capitalism ‘work’. Isn’t it enough that we already fund Medicare and Medicaid and the prescription drug program and Schip and the VA along with business-sponsored variations of so-called group plans and individual plans and high risk pools for some of the shunned that big business cannot afford and emergency rooms for the dregs of our great land of “we the people”. Where does it all end. Do we really need to have a separate system for our elected ones and other government employees — I mean, elected officials and other government employees are just regular folks like the rest of us, right. Further, we should expand this coop thing all the down to the local levels in government. Down to the teachers and county commissioners and others. If we are going to reform this mess that we call health care, let’s do it right and quit with the half-a$$ piecemeal, pawn it off on the next generation approach that our elected ones have managed to excel at all these terms in their corporate armchaired seats.
Come on. Show us what you got, all of you who claim to be working for “we the people”. Share some of that brain power with the rest of us and give us some solutions that benefit more than a few multi-millionaire executives, if you think yourself capable of the task.
RW-(the original)
August 17th, 2009
8:29 am
Or their employer could change the policies offered…
Paul,
If we get back to being responsible for buying our own insurance that becomes irrelevant. Of course we need to get the federal government out of the way of competition but what are the odds of that happening? They need to make the system unworkable just so they can take it over.