Why the House progressives should kill healthcare reform if there's no public option-by Darcy Burner

[kpete]

"No sane Member of Congress should vote for a bill that will spike the cost of health insurance at the same time we require all Americans to buy it."

Why the House progressives should kill healthcare reform if there's no public option

by: Darcy Burner
Sun Sep 06, 2009

.........................

The public option is essential to the success of the reforms - not merely for political reasons, but for fundamental policy reasons.

Simply put, if you want other reforms like elimination of pre-existing condition exclusions, you need a public option because: * Reforms such as eliminating pre-existing condition exclusions only work if you have an individual mandate. * If you have an individual mandate, rates will skyrocket unless you have a public option to provide competition (or rate controls, which aren't even on the table).

So what opponents of the public option are proposing is that we pass a bill that will spike the cost of health insurance at the same time we require everyone by law to buy it.

Given that as the alternative, we are in fact better off with no reform.

more:
http://www.openleft.com/diary/14959/why-the-house-progressives-should-kill-healthcare-reform-if-theres-no-public-option

[rhett o rick]

1. I support Darcy. rec nt

[Joanne98]

2. Amen.

[Sebastian Doyle]

3. Pretty much what I've been saying for months.

Anything less than the true, non-triggered, public option would be WORSE than the status quo, and better to scrap the whole thing, kick some corporate fellating fake "Democrats" out of office in the primaries and start over.

[Wilms]

4. n/t

[Vinnie From Indy]

5. Agreed!

After reading the Baucus proposal details, it seems quite clear that mandating coverage without a public option is MUCH worse than the status quo.

[yodermon]

6. What a succinct summation. K&R!

Hope the Progressive caucus sends a bill with a ROBUST public option.
Here's a problem: could the P.O. be "watered down" in the reconciliation process??? :scared: