Democrats introduce public option health care bill

[demmiblue]

Source: The Hill

Congressional Democrats are introducing legislation to allow states to set up a public option for health-care insurance.

The legislation, spearheaded by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M), is the latest idea from Democrats as the party tries to plot its next steps after blocking the GOP effort to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

"Our objective should be to have a competition of ideas. ... I think it's a golden age in terms of policy ideas when it comes to Democrats and health care," Schatz told reporters.

He added that "we want to make sure that people understand that we have a vision for the future."

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/357094-democrats-introduce-public-option-health-care-bill

[harun]

1. Good to hear! Nice work.

[ehrnst]

2. Good. Build on what we have and expand coverage further. (nt)

[sheshe2]

3. Good. nt

[groundloop]

4. NOT ENOUGH!!! By merely 'allowing states' to set up single payer we in red states are still screwed

Granted, this may be viewed as a start, but there are millions of us who won't be helped.

I want to retire within the next few years, one major impediment to that is availability of affordable health insurance. 45* has tremendously aggravated that problem.

[MuseRider]

5. Hell, we can hardly get the ACA here.

One choice, maybe 2 companies. Every year my coverage is discontinued but I am lucky. Here if I was on Medicaid I would up the creek since it has been privatized and the company does not pay the bills. Also lucky because next year I qualify for Medicare. Thank god. The cost of my ACA insurance is more than we have ever paid and it isn't because of the ACA it is because my state will do anything to stop us from using it including offering only a few choices and they are expensive.

[hamsterjill]

6. Same boat here.

+1000

(And I'm tired of always being the ones who get screwed. Not only red states, but our age group, as well.)

[Smitty63nnn]

7. I'm with you

Even though I like that we're coming up with something, why take baby steps? The ultimate goal is healthcare as a right. It will happen. We just don't know when.

[Fritz Walter]

10. Wishful thinking

For some reason I’m reminded of the quote I heard on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 a few years ago:
“Why don’t you try wishing in one hand and crapping in the other, and see which one fills up faster?”
Since I got RIF’ed from a full-time job with a decent benefit-package in 2014, I’ve been paying huge, monthly premiums for health insurance, and waiting to enroll in Medicare (10 months, 10 days from now). And now, the RepubliCON budget is threatening what used to be a third-rail, political-suicidal notion of cutting funding for a system, into which I’ve paid for almost 50 years.

Please excuse my unvarnished skepticism. If these fuckers succeed, I’ll be working into my 80’s just to pay into a profit-driven health system that all other civilized nations treat as a right, and fund it as such.

Get. Out. The. Vote.
Especially in 2018.
Some of us might not last to 2020!

[RussBLib]

8. How about lowering the age of entry into Medicare?

But I'm not sure the Dems would push it even if they had a majority.

[genxlib]

9. Maybe I am thick

But why not make the Public Option simply a buy-in version of Medicare.

It is completely un-necessary to require a state to establish a network of Doctors when a public version already exists