Landrieu Invents Unholy Grail of Worthless Public Option Gimmicks

[t0dd]

Source: Firedoglake

It appears Mary Landrieu (D-LA) has created the unholy grail of terrible gimmicks meant to cripple the public option. It is a several-year-delayed, triggered, state-based, non-public co-op limited to the exchange option:

Landrieu calls her proposal the “competitive community option,” which sounds remarkably similar to a trigger proposal advocated by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).

A state-based nonprofit insurance competitor would kick into effect where coverage is not considered affordable. It would receive seed money from the government, but would be funded through premiums.

In contrast to Snowe’s proposal, Landrieu’s proposal would not be available on Day One. Landrieu refers to her idea as a “fallback.” She said the insurance market reforms should be given a chance to work.

This is absurd. The simple addition of a trigger designed to never be pulled was enough to ensure a public option will never be a reality; this massive additional bundle of qualifiers is sufficient to ensure this “alternative” will be a laughing stock. Would it even be possible to make this idea more worthless? How else could Landrieu, Lincoln, or Lieberman make it even weaker? Is an idea floating around to limit it to only people whose last names start with J? Maybe they will demand that this non-public option be run by a board of directors comprised of cats? Perhaps it can only sign up customers between 2 and 3pm on Sundays in months that end with -uary.

If Democrats think they can sell this worthless pile of bad ideas as a public option, they must have a very low opinion of the intelligence of the American people.



More here: http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2009/12/03/landrieu-invents-the-unholy-grail-of-worthless-public-option-gimmicks/

[Canuckistanian]

1. Whoa

It's the motherlode of public-option-killing.

Good post.

[annabanana]

2. So. . .THIS is her response to the pressure she's been

getting from the left?

Disgraceful.

[gratuitous]

3. Yesssss, let's wait for the insurance market to reform itself

The poor dears have only screwed us over for 100 years, and made untold billions off the sickness and suffering of Americans. Let's give them just a little more time . . . say another 100 years, right Mary?

[JDPriestly]

5. Actually, in many states not-for-profits dominated the insurance

market for many years. They did a great job but then the for-profits bought them out. Big money came in to ruin everything during the late 70s and through the 90s as the merger manics and the leverage loonies got into action.

[rwheeler31]

4. Louisiana has become the saddest state I have ever seen.

This woman is another victim.

[Louisiana1976]

7. Louisiana is in the fight for her life...because Sen. Tom Coburn

has introduced an amendment to the healthcare bill removing the $300 million she needs to pllug a huge Medicaid shortfall.

[L0oniX]

6. HUH???