Bottom Line on Public Insurance Plan Gets Blurry

[Hissyspit]

Source: Associated Press

Bottom line on public insurance plan gets blurry

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer – 46 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration's bottom line on a government health insurance option blurred Sunday as White House officials stressed support but stopped short of calling it a must-have part of an overhaul.

As President Barack Obama prepares for a Wednesday night speech to Congress in a risky bid to salvage his top domestic priority, no other issue is so highly charged. Obama's liberal supporters consider the proposal for a public plan to compete with private insurers do-or-die. Republicans say it's unacceptable. It's doubtful the public plan can pass the Senate.
White House political adviser David Axelrod said Obama is "not walking away" from a public plan. But asked if the president would veto a bill that came to him without the option, Axelrod declined to answer. The president "believes it should be in the plan, and he expects to be in the plan, and that's our position," Axelrod told The Associated Press. Asked if that means a public plan has to be in the bill for Obama to sign it, Axelrod responded: "I'm not going to deal in hypotheticals. ... He believes it's important."

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The idea of a public plan has become a symbol for the reach of government in a revamped health care system. Supporters say it would give workers and their families similarly secure benefits as older people now get through Medicare, while leaving medical decisions up to doctors and patients. The plan would be offered alongside private coverage through a new kind of purchasing pool called an insurance exchange. At least initially, the exchange would be open to small employers and people buying coverage on their own. Insurers say they could never compete against the price-setting power of government. Employer groups warn it would undermine the system of job-based coverage.

A public option — or government plan — has come to mean different things to different people. Some say it could be a public trust and independent of the government: nonprofit co-ops could serve as a check on insurance companies. In its original form, supporters envisioned a Medicare-like plan in which the government pays the bills. But it would be financed through premiums paid by beneficiaries, not taxpayer dollars. While there's strong support for a public plan among House Democrats, the votes appear to be lacking in the Senate.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090907/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_health_care_overhaul

[AllyCat]

1. Public Option is a compromise already!!! Time to hit the streets folks!

[naaman fletcher]

2. I can't imagine what Obama is doing here..

Of course I want the public option, but if they are going to give it up then give it up.. this daily "we don't really know" answer can't possibly be helping anything.