Yesterday, the news was all about how the White House had let the public option go from health care reform. Today, the news is that it never was gone. From a New York Times report, today:
For now, White House officials said, Mr. Obama remains committed to the goal of insuring all Americans and still prefers to foster competition for insurance companies by creating a new government insurance program, or public option.
What's the deal? Is this all part of some elaborate game, and the Obama administration is playing everybody - either for a more progressive bill, or to gut all meaningful reform from reform? Who knows? Certainly not the White House, if Ezra Klein is right:
Conversations with a number of White House officials make it clear that, at this point, even they don't know. The argument was raging as recently as last night, and appears to have hardened into two main camps. Both camps agree that the cost of the bill has to come down. The question is how much, and what can be sacrificed.
Apparently, it all comes down to Maine's moderate Republican Senator, Olympia Snowe, and wooing her with a "trigger" for a public option. Boo. I don't like the trigger, because I don't trust mechanisms that can be gamed by lobbyists during the 2- to 3-year wait period. Jonathan Walker has a much more informed apprehension for a trigger.
And, as Sammy Benoit points out, that's not even considering the opposition to any reform without the public option, which is formidable. A White House plan without the public option may be irrelevant.
The lesson? It's probably best not to take to heart any of the day-to-day news about the healthcare battle.
Another lesson? Keep insisting on a public option. You know how I feel about this: without the public option, we can't escaping the scr*wing the private insurance industry has been giving most of us, and the majority of the public will be furious to find out they're on the hook for a bunch of subsidies to these people, but without any immediately discernible benefit to themselves.
So, how can you help?
You can sign FireDogLake's online petition urging the Progressive House Caucus to "stay firm" on its promise to vote against any reform without the public option. And while you're at it, you can still drop a nickel into these folks' campaign funds.
As always, continue to pressure your representatives to support the public option. If you haven't written Jon or Max yet, do so. |
