Lieberman Open To Medicare Buy-In, So Long As Public Option Scrapped

[kpete]

Source: Talking Points Memo

With Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) unlikely to support a trade off that would replace a public option with a measure allowing certain people to buy into the Medicare program, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is a must have vote. He just gave his Democratic colleagues some breathing room.

Lieberman said he's open to both the Medicare buy-in idea, and a separate proposal to extend the private system that insures federal employees to individuals and small businesses.

On the Medicare buy-in--which has significant appeal among liberals--Lieberman was open, but non-committal. "I'll take a look at it," Lieberman said. "I think the good news is, however, that the current bill will, for the first time, provide people 55 and over who are not yet eligible for Medicare with subsidies to go on to the exchanges and buy, so they can buy for a lot less than it costs them in the marketplace now."

"I'm open to looking at it," Lieberman told reporters. "But I want to make sure that we're not...adding a big additional burden to the Medicare program."

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/lieberman-open-to-medicare-buy-in-so-long-as-public-option-scrapped.php

[TheCoxwain]

1. That takes away the most expensive people off the market .. and hand the healthies to insurance

BAD effing Idea

[Oregone]

5. Isn't that what Medicare already does

Why is that bad?

[TheCoxwain]

29. From where we are today . this is good for insurance cos .. that is why

[No Elephants]

32. Love your graphic. It really is worth a thousand words.

[rockymountaindem]

2. What's the difference? n/t

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Yeah..right...openminded my ass.

He knows who pays him.
And it ain't us.
Not directly, at any rate.

[Sebastian Doyle]

4. The only reason that treasonous piece of shit is "open" to it

is that he knows his DLC buddies are out to destroy Medicare, so what's the harm in letting people into something when it will ALL be corporatist insurance when they get done with it. :grr:

[COLGATE4]

6. Not to be repetitive

but -
FUCK LIEBERMAN!

[sakabatou]

31. +1000

[closeupready]

7. Amazing how he just saunters around like he owns Congress.

n/t

[No Elephants]

33. He's owned Congress since Democrats handed him his election as an Independent.

I remember a discussion someone was having with Tim Russert the night Lieberman got elected.

The other man (forgot who) asked Russert, "Which committees do you think the Democrats will give Lieberman?"

Russert responded, "Anyones he wants."

I disliked Russert for his sneaky Republican bias and his pretense of being perfectly fair. But I watched him as much as I could because he always "got it" before everyone else did.

So, thank the Democratic Party for damaging Lamont during the primary, then abandoning him after he won it.

[mbperrin]

8. Can no one rid us of this meddlesome

bastard?

[wordpix]

24. As a CT voter and activist---I'll do my best! (could not agree with you more!)

[No Elephants]

34. What's it worth to ya?

j/k No matter how much Lieberman tempts me, I am sticking to my non-violent principles.

[LaPera]

9. Insurance companies are already laughing & celebrating knowing they "won". No public option and

nothing in the bill to keep them from continuing business as usual, for even larger profits in the future, as well as billions more than before from our tax dollars....

Thanks to those fucking three or four paid-off moderates, "democrats", who refused to stand with their party for the good of the people for a strong public option, instead chose insurance corporations profits as more important!

The minority party, the republicans (and fucking moderate Dems) wins & rules in congress AGAIN!!

[WriteDown]

15. They were always going to win...

After my buddy who's the CFO of a ginormous healthcare corporation told me he wasn't the least bit worried very early on, I knew this was the way it would turn out.

[Odin2005]

10. Ugh, so the Boomers get Medicare, the rest of us get screwed?

This is generational warfare. FUCK YOU, LOSERMAN!

[Hepburn]

11. Fuck him....

...I am sooooooo sick of that asshole calling shots...:mad:

[Froward69]

12. what a dottering old fool

corporatist ass.

[thereismore]

13. I agree with Lieberman!

I can't believe it. But I do. Am I stupid? I think that expanding medicare is the only way that does not run into stiff opposition on principle (now that all repigs like medicare), and it is a way to gradually get single payer to all.

[HughMoran]

16. I'm having an internal conflict here - wasn't opening Medicare a DU idea?

...I feel like I'm in some sort of alternate dimension.

:wtf:

[thereismore]

28. Howard Dean's idea in 2004 or maybe Al Gore's in 2000. nt

[No Elephants]

35. Not a DU idea, but DU supported Medicare FOR ALL. That is very different from

Medicare for all over 55. Economically, you need younger, healthier people in the pool of insureds. This proposal gives them--the profitable insureds--to the private companies, making them richer, while sticking the taxpayers with only the disabled and the oldest population, as Medicare already has a huge deficit.

Morally, you are forcing American citizens (those under 55) to buy a product from private companies. Medicare for all (aka single payer) has neither the economic flaw nor the moral flaw. Therefore, you cannot equate Medicare for all with Medicare for all those who are disabled or over 55.

I am hoping that it is a foot in the door, rather than something that ultimately ends up crippling both Medicare and health reform. But, I can see why some are objecting.

[reggie the dog]

14. If Snowe votes for a public option

who really gives a damn what Joe does, it is not like he is a Democrat.

[damntexdem]

17. Ok, Joe, we'll get rid of that nasty public option -- so long as you vote for Medicare for all!

Then you can go out and shout "keep the government out of our Medicare!" ;-)

[IndianaGreen]

19. Medicare for all!

And all against Joe!

[David Zephyr]

20. LOL!

I'll drink to that.

[mvd]

18. The baby boom will be sorely in need of better health care..

so I think this would be a step forward. When would the buy-in option go into effect? It might even be better in the short term than a very limited public option, as long as we get closer and closer to single payer.

Who really cares what Lieberman thinks, though - McCain voter and person owned by corporate interests that he is. We can't let him hold reform up.

[laughingliberal]

21. Hard for me to be objective here. I'm 55 in February and without insurance

But my age group is looking at outrageous premiums from the private insurance companies if they don't do this. Last I saw of the Senate bill the premium could wind up being more than we were paying for COBRA which was $1200.
One thing this might do is lower premiums for younger people. We know their premiums were going to have to be higher as the House was limiting them to charging 2 X the amount for an older person as the lowest premium for the same policy. To get what they wanted out of us they were going to be setting the lowest rate very high. This might bring the rates down for others.

[still_one]

27. The question is how much would it cost to "buy-in"? /nt

[2Design]

22. scap his insurance NOW n/t

[wordpix]

23. "I'm open to looking at it" ---could it be he's heard from his constituents?

I for one wrote him and told him no way I'd vote for him if he continues to screw up (not that I would anyway).

Maybe, just maybe, the guy is getting a bit scared about his Dem base leaving him behind.

[No Elephants]

36. "I'm open to LOOKING " is about the least he could say without seeming like even more of a jerk than

usual. Anyone who is not even open to looking at something should not be in the Senate.

However, he is also saying that it has to be economically sound, so he is leaving himself a second huge loophole. Sounds to me as though he may want a high buy in price tag.

[classysassy]

25. We the people(the public)

are so fucking stupid,we let a bunch of criminals deny health care to the most needy in this country because we keep sending those selfish bastard back to Washington,so they can continue to screw the people(the little people,the one that can only vote,the ones that don't bribes those bastards.)Wakeup people we don't live in a democracy,its the same old plutocracy where the rich crooks rule.

[still_one]

26. Help me out. How much would it cost to "buy-in"? If the price is too expensive it is a problem /nt

[No Elephants]

37. Sounds as though Traitor Joe would like a high buy in price. However,

the mandate means people over 55 without other insurance are going to have to buy from either Medicare or from a private company. Even if the prices are identical, I'd rather buy into Medicare than give my $$ to a private health insurance company.

[tonekat]

30. At best, change will likely come in increments

You're never going to see these craven politicians produce dramatic change.

Oh, and Lieberman is an ass.

[mstinamotorcity]

38. point blank

Joe Liebermann can kiss a fat monkey's ass or is that an insult to the monkey.

[LeftishBrit]

39. He's already done so many times - the monkey was called George Bush.

[mstinamotorcity]

40. Good one

I forgot about George of the jungle:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[yurbud]

41. I'll listen to Joe, so long as his wife gives up her job as a health insurance lobbyist