Obama's Healthcare Public Option Is On a Respirator--Or Dead Already
By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
If the weekend TV talk shows are the crystal balls of national politics, then the so-called public option in the Obama healthcare reform effort is on the respirator if not already dead. About the most Democrat-friendly Republican in the U.S. Senate (particularly on healthcare reform) Olympia Snowe of Maine, told CBS this weekend the public option is,
"universally opposed by all Republicans in the Senate" and "therefore, there's no way to pass a plan that includes the public option."
The president's address to Congress last week may have swayed some apolitical Americans, or served as fodder to those who believe healthcare is a "right," not a service for which we all must pay. But his talk does not seem to have done much to change the minds of key Senators who will decide whether government-sponsored health insurance lives or dies.
Senator Mary L. Landrieu, the Democrat from Louisiana, joined that chorus on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," arguing that a government-run health plan would "undermine the private insurance system that she said covered 55 percent of insured Americans.
"Let's not revise the whole system, let's build on its strengths," she said.
The problem seems to be White House math. The White House claims a public option will pay for itself. That belies the obvious—it will not. The sooner President Obama gives up his quest for universal coverage, the sooner his popularity ratings will recover some of their lost ground.
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Tags: healthcare | Barack Obama
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Reader Comments
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lot about you
Public Health Care Option Dead?
I sincerely hope so. I retired and had to give up my "free" Blue Cross coverage to go to "pay for it" Medicare. Furthermore I was charged a premium for Medicare because I made too much money the last year I worked. Blue Cross paid for a lot more of my care than Medicare does. They rewarded me for preventative care. Obama says if I like what I have and the doctor I have I can keep it. What planet is he from? I don't like Medicare and it will cover less than what it cover now; and suppose my doctor chooses not to keep me because he doesn't like how the government reimburses him? Oh, Obamacare is going to fix that because it will set a reimbursement rate even private insurance will have to follow. So the medical school classes will sit empty. All the future doctors will be in law school because that's the only industry the government refuses to regulate.
Let's Hope So....
If the "public option" is in fact nearly dead, it could not hasppen sooner. The last thing that this great country needs is for the government to decide if and when we can see a doctor or have a surgical procedure. Obamaman is lying when he claims that it will foster competition. Yes, the Wal-Mart way. Undercut your competitors and drive them out of business.
Then there is the other fairy tale, that the plan will pay for itself. How could people delude themselves by believing such leftist drivel? If this were to be put into effect, within ten years EVERYONE will be paying a 75% income tax rate. It amazes me how Obamaman's fan club accepts all of his lies unchallenged.
It gets down to one basic conviction: government has absolutley no right to take my money away from me and give it to people who refuse to help themselves.
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