The New York Times: "In the debate over health care reform, no issue has produced more fury and sound bites than the question of whether to include a government-run insurance plan. It is not indispensable, and its role would be limited. Even so, we strongly support inclusion of a public option - the bigger and stronger the better. That is the best way to give consumers more choices, inject more competition into insurance markets, hold down the cost of insurance policies, and save money for the federal budget."
Open Congress put up S.1796 - the Senate Finance Committee's health care legislation - on its site.
Max Baucus thinks a "watered down" version of the public option could get 60 votes in the Senate:
"This issue is alive and we are looking at it to see what makes the most sense," the senator declared on a conference call with reporters. "The major overall goal here though is to get health care reform that passes the Senate, gets 60 votes, and I just don't know if there is 60 votes for the most pure kinds of the public option. There may be 60 votes for the less pure kinds."
The less pure kinds, Baucus explained, were co-ops, a public plan triggered by economic conditions and an insurance structure that allowed states to opt in or out of a public option. He seemed to find the last option the most intriguing.
A. Co-ops and a trigger are not a public option, even "watered down."
B. Why does anyone care what Max Baucus thinks anymore? Frankly, he shouldn't be involved in the creation of the final bill the Senate votes on. His role now is to vote for cloture on whatever bill the leadership crafts.
Be sure to check out "This American Life" and its two-part series on healthcare reform: "Someone Else's Money," on the health insurance industry; and "More is Less," on the reasons behind the rising cost of health care in the US.
Here's the SNL sketch where the "Rock Obama" makes Max Baucus bark like a dog, and then throws him out the window:
I have to admit, I enjoyed watching the Rock rip off Mitch McConnell's arm...heh heh.
