Obama: "Public option is an area that has just become symbolic"

[Thickasabrick]

President Obama told American Urban Radio Networks's April Ryan Monday that he stayed up to watch the Senate's early-morning vote on a health care bill and said he's confident Congress can work out the "five percent" difference between the House and Senate bills.

"I was up because I wanted to make sure that I was watching what could end up being an historic moment," Obama said.

The president sought to downplay the lack of a public health insurance option in the Senate bill, saying: "There is so much good in this bill, and I'm now confident that it’s going to pass."

"I think people need to understand just how significant this is," Obama told Ryan.

The public option, he said, "is an area that has just become symbolic of a lot of ideological fights." But, Obama added: "As a practical matter, this is not the most important aspect of this bill — the House bill or the Senate bill."

Only "a few million people" who buy into the insurance exchange set up in the bill would have benefited from the public option, he said.

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/1209/obama_watched_the_vote_3dac2d12-13ff-416b-9394-16cf24e21c02.html

[rudy23]

1. He wishes. Is he trying to Jedi mind trick us into thinking the public option isn't real?

It's at the very heart of the public vs. private debate that defines our political affiliations. Did he think we'd just forget why we were Democrats?

[tblue]

20. My support for Obama has just become "symbolic"

Yeah, I said I was supporting him. But you actually believed me when I said that? Hoho! Silly people. Its not like I actually meant it. Why is everybody making such a big deal? It's just a small, irrelevant, symbolic thing. Not like it's real or anything. I've turned the page. Okay now, what's next?

[clear eye]

98. Whahahahaha!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Hilarious, but poignant. We didn't want our support to be anything less than whole-hearted.

[roguevalley]

21. a public option is just symbolic to him. actually, it is life and death

to the poor and soon to be poor because he will accept anything to get his 'historic moment'. God, what a tool.

[rudy23]

63. What possibly could be less symbolic than health issues?

Obama is coming off as devoid of basic human empathy as Bush here.

[polpilot]

86. Come on. It's only that 'life and death' issue. Not THAT important.

[Jersey Devil]

73. LOL, thanks for the laugh

Though I disagree with you the "Jedi mind trick" comment made me spit my coffee laughing. :rofl:

[ixion]

2. of course. The "most important" part is the massive revenue stream

generated for the insurance cos. Eh, Mr. Obama? :grr:

[phasma ex machina]

9. Shhhh! If you keep saying that out loud the Jedi mind trick will epic fail. nt.

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. If the Public Option by design was minimal at most

Of course it was not the most important aspect of the bill.

Here we have circular reasoning that intentionally misses the point.

[tblue]

17. But it was one thing most Anericans wanted the most!

How dare he!

[mmonk]

69. Why put it in then? To be dishonest?

In my opinion, yes.

[DJ13]

4. "..... kind of like my change message"

[jonnyblitz]

6. !!!!!

Good one! :hi:

[mascarax]

12. Ouch.

Good retort.

[laughingliberal]

33. Right! Oh, you thought I meant 'real' change? My bad. nt

[ThomCat]

53. Absolutely right.

Both were apparently presented just for public relations purposes only. There was no actual intent to present change, or a public option. Corporate masters would not approve.

[kenny blankenship]

5. Slimy

First you reduce the Public Option to token status, then you cut its throat and say, no biggie, it wasn't going to help that many people anyway.

[JetCityLiberal]

80. +1,000,000... slimy is right

That word fits how I feel about this crap too.

Paul

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. And, another shade of lipstick is applied. But, the bill still looks like a pig.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

22. How dare you say that about Sarah Palin!!! n/t

[AnOhioan]

8. Another line from another politician

[Beetwasher]

10. The PO Was A Big Fat Red Herring

N/t

[kenny blankenship]

27. Are you saying Obama is a liar? That he intentionally deceived the entire country

about his commitment to a public sector response to the failure of private insurance?

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Beetwasher]

46. Looks To Me That Bait Was Laid

And lotsa suckas both L and R took it.

I wouldn't be too particularly surprised if sometime in the not too distant future some public options were "reconciled" to this foundation.

[FiveGoodMen]

76. Evidently, Obama himself is now saying that!

"Fooled you, suckers! What are you gonna do now?!"

He may wind up giving Dubya a run for Worst President Ever.

[AllentownJake]

11. Yes the equation you campaigned on of a formula of a Public Option

to compete with Insurance companies you are going to mandate was wrong all along this summer. Just like your position that mandates were bad in the primary. Seriously, this guy moves what is AWESOME every fucking minute.

[Yuugal]

13. "The public option meant so little..........

They practically had to hold a gun to my head to have me repeat it at every fucking speech for a whole year. Thank god that nasty election time lying is over and now I can lie directly to benefit my rich friends." == Benedict Obama

[tblue]

14. Kicking us to the curb

yet again.

[earth mom]

59. No, make that throwing the majority of the people of this country under the bus.

:grr:

[CBR]

15. ugh... not a smart thing to say. nt

[Vinnie From Indy]

16. This is equivalent to GW Smirky Bush's statement about Osama Bin Laden Being Irrelevant

Both the public option and the capture of Osama Bin Laden were important ONLY as props to confuse and control the unwashed masses. I se no difference. Bush used the capture of Obama to get his war on and Obama used his promises about health care to get elected. When these objectives were achieved both props got discarded like a used condom.

[frylock]

18. kinda like having a dem in the white house..

mostly symbolic.

[glitch]

83. This particular Dem, apparently. nt

[amborin]

19. once he let it be watered down, there's an element of truth; but it could have been powerful!

[Skittles]

23. clueless

[madfloridian]

24. He dared to say that so openly?

Things are getting worse.

[laughingliberal]

34. Yes. I can hardly wait to see what he does for an encore. (shudder) nt

[dflprincess]

38. Think Medicare and Social Security "reform"

Rahm and DLC has had those programs in their sights for a long time.

[Thickasabrick]

39. I heard Rahm's brother the doctor really hates Medicare. I hope

Rahm gets bored and goes back to Wall Street or Ballet soon.

[dflprincess]

42. Ballet?

Have I missed something?

Though I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Rahm is a Prima Dona.

[Thickasabrick]

62. His mom encouraged him to be a ballet dancer and he went to

Sarah Lawrence College because of their strong dance program. Oh what could have been.

[bvar22]

85. Oh WOW...He coulda been a contender.

He certainly could have beaten Tom Delay on Dancing with the Stars!

[laughingliberal]

43. Yeah, I thought about that all last week. We know it's coming

Will be very entertaining to see what justifications we will hear on DU when that happens.

[Raine]

25. Change we can believe in ... symbolic

[Forkboy]

26. Aw, well, if it was only going to help a paltry few million....

[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[iceman66]

30. He's absolutely right

about the PO that was deleted from the Senate bill, or even the one in the House bill.

Neither would have covered more than a few percent of the populace, nor would they have even gone into effect for 4-5 years.

[laughingliberal]

35. Yeah, not like the version we could have had if someone with power and influence had stood up for it

You know, like if someone with popularity and political capital to spend had gotten behind it. Too bad we don't know anyone like that.

[iceman66]

49. You're not giving Obama enough credit.

No one we could have elected last year would have been able to pull that off. There is simply too much institutional resistance in Congress.

Obama has brought us closer to real health care reform than any of his predecessors, and for that he should be commended rather than mocked.

[laughingliberal]

52. I appreciate your efforts and know you are sincere.

I know you and I will not agree on this. I could not be more convinced that this bill is not, in any way, a step towards reform of our health care system. I have not come to that position lightly. Going against a President from the party I have belonged to for 36 years (and my parents before me) is the toughest stand I have ever had to take. Nothing in politics in all these 36 years ever moved me as much as casting my vote for the man who would be the first African American president of this country. No one could have been more moved than I, a veteran of the civil rights wars of the late 60's. If I, in my heart of hearts believed, for a moment, any good would come out of this bill, I would not speak out against it. If I could even convince myself that there is a shred upon which we could improve in the future I would, at least, offer my skeptical support. I would love nothing more than to join in a big celebration at the passage of a health care reform bill. It has been my heart's desire since I first began watching the takeover of the industry for which I worked by the private for-profit industry.

I take no joy in being the bearer of bad tidings. It is a role I am well equipped for after 25 years as an RN working first in oncology and then hospice but not one I enjoy. I have read and reread the bill, searching for that one piece that would allow me to celebrate with my fellow Democrats. But reality is a hard master and, once seen, hard to deny. I wish for the bliss ignorance of the ramifications would bring me. I wish I could be among those who could celebrate now and not have to see the destruction for a few more years when everyone will see it. Just a few more years to think it's going to be alright, it'll be progress would be a blessing right now. But I have seen the beast that is our health care industry in this country. And I have seen the legislation which will feed the beast further, giving nothing in return.

I am happy for those who are feeling celebratory at this apparent victory and will not be so graceless in years to come as to say, "I told you so." I have failed to allow for the unintended consequences of actions in the past enough times to now know where to look before they run me over. I only ask that when the reality dawns, in the future, that no one say there were none sounding the alarm.

[iceman66]

65. I don't think anyone can say for sure

what effect this legislation will have on our health care system long term. You may well be right. Hopefully, this bill will only be the beginning of a process. I see this as more of a political victory than a practical one. The President and the party will be in a stronger position politically than if the effort had failed entirely. Obviously more work needs to be done.

My point is that, given the current composition of the Congress, this is probably the best that ANY President would have been able to accomplish at the present time.

[AnOhioan]

58. Really?? OK Try this if you are employed by someone....

"Honest boss, I got further along on this task than anyone else but I still did not complete it. But ya gotta commend me for giving it the old college try."

Let me know how that works for you.

[iceman66]

66. Your analogy is flawed.

If Obama had the power to unilaterally enact health care reform, but failed to do so, you would have a point.

That is obviously not the way the system works. No amount of pressure from Obama (or any other President) would have been enough to get, for instance, Ben Nelson and Lieberman on board for meaningful health care reform because these people have very strong vested interests in preserving the status quo. The only real option here was reconciliation and Harry Reid was not willing to go that route.

In the end, Obama got 58 Senators to sign on to at least some form of the public option and/or medicare expansion and that in itself is an amazing accomplishment. If you'll recall at the beginning of the process the number was more like 45.

[Lance_Boyle]

71. But Obama DIDN'T do ANY of that. He sat and watched while Reid squirmed.

And SURPRISE! Reid squirmed right out of any real reform. Obama did NOTHING - he sat on the sidelines and watched, and every once in awhile piped in to add his enthusiastic blessing to the piece by piece decimation of real reform - the piece by piece dismantling of the reform HE CAMPAIGNED ON.

Obama never pressured Lieberman on the public option - surprise! Obama never pressured ANY of them for ANYTHING, except Reid, and only for a fucking arbitrary, politically calculated deadline. Fuck Obama and his lies and changiness - he's just another worthless politician.

[iceman66]

72. Obama was involved in the process from day one

Just because it didn't all play out in public, don't assume otherwise.

How else do you think he managed to dramatically increase the number of Senators willing to support the public option? He personally lobbied them, one by one. He even went after Olympia Snowe for a while, until it became obvious that she wasn't acting in good faith.

The White House also approached Reid on several occasions about using reconciliation, the most recent of which was reported on CNN just last week. Reid would not do it.

If you want to blame someone for the present watered down bill, blame Reid.

[dreamnightwind]

91. By gutting the PO to make it meaningless, that's how

"How else do you think he managed to dramatically increase the number of Senators willing to support the public option? He personally lobbied them, one by one. He even went after Olympia Snowe for a while, until it became obvious that she wasn't acting in good faith."

Come on, it's quite obvious how more Senators were brought on board to support a Public Option. They whittled it down to little more than a symbol, repeatedly adding more and more qualifiers until it wouldn't cover many people, it would be administered by a private corporation, it would be more expensive to an individual than private insurance purchased on the exchange, it wouldn't take effect for years, etc etc etc etc.

Obama's personal lobbying that you're so proud of probably looked like this:

"What would we have to do to the public option to win your support? Trim a little off the side? A little off the top? No problem, glad to oblige, anything to get your suuport, nice doing business with you, the public option is just a symbol to appease the clueless left anyway".

[iceman66]

97. Of course they had to whittle it down to get to 60 votes.

Which just goes to prove my point that the current bill is the best that was possible given the state of the Congress.

Do you really think Obama would veto a single-payer plan if there were the votes in Congress to pass one?

His goal all along has been to get the best health care bill possible, emphasis on "possible".

[dreamnightwind]

99. Uh, no

It proves nothing of the sort. It proves he never cared one whit about the PO, he used it as a way to position himself and give him something to compromise off of.

And 60 votes was never as real as people think. All the Dems had to do was to get their people in line to not support a Republican filibuster. That's not much to ask, then they can vote their conscience when the bill itself comes up for a vote. They have ways of enforcing this internally. These tactics were never used, and the reason is the Dems driving this process (Obama, Baucus, Rahm, and Reid) never intended to do anything to challenge the health insurance industrial complex. They don't want to lose those campaign contributions to the Repubs, and that's the determining factor for them.

And while I'm not sure about the veto question, I am sure that he worked against a real public option, and he most definitely worked against giving single payer any kind of chance whatsoever. Single payer supporters were never allowed at the table, the CBO was never allowed to score single payer, etc etc. He didn't have to ignore single payer this way, he did it because he's working with and for large corporate interests. If you can't see this I can't see you and I having a whole lot to talk about on this issue, sorry, I've completely had it with the whole phony process of HCR and corporate politician apologists.

[corpseratemedia]

31. i recall a couple of speeches that highlighted a PO as being a vital part of the legislation

and him working up his audiences using the little nugget, which is all it seems now

[rateyes]

32. Oh, well, then, if it's really only a

FEW MILLION PEOPLE!!

Who gives a shit about the poor? :sarcasm:

[unkachuck]

36. "....symbolic of a lot of ideological fights..."

....or a political litmus test of integrity....sorry Prez, the best thing I can say for your Rube Goldberg healthcare reform is that the repugs hate it for all the wrong reasons....

[dflprincess]

37. I thought the public option was necessary to "keep the insurance companies honest"

Though, I always thought that was an odd statement - admitting they're crooked by saying they must be "kept" honest - but then doing everything possible to protect them.

[kenny blankenship]

40. Honest isn't necessarily necessary

[laughingliberal]

44. right! it's just a 'sliver'of the overall package that is not crucial nt

[madfloridian]

41. Obama's campaign 2008 his own words.

"My health care plan will overhaul the current health care system by guaranteeing coverage for every American through partnerships among employers, private health plans, the federal government, and the states. The plan both builds on and improves our current insurance system, which most Americans continue to rely upon, and leaves Medicare intact for older and disabled Americans. Under my plan, Americans will be able to maintain their current coverage if they choose to, and will see the quality of their health care improve and their costs go down. My plan also addresses the large gaps in coverage that leave 47 million Americans uninsured. Specifically, my plan will: (1) establish a new public insurance program, available to Americans who neither qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP nor have access to insurance through their employers, as well as to small businesses that want to offer insurance to their employees; (2) create a National Health Insurance Exchange to help Americans and businesses that want to purchase private health insurance directly; (3) require all employers to contribute towards health coverage for their employees or towards the cost of the public plan ; (4) mandate all children have health care coverage; (5) expand eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs; and (6) allow flexibility for state health reform plans.

This forum is absolutely ridiculing and scorning Howard Dean because he pushed for changes in the bill and changed his rhetoric as the bill changed.

SO..we just ignore it when this is what Obama says now after sending out staff to attack Dean for speaking out?

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/1209/obama_watched_the_vote_3dac2d12-13ff-416b-9394-16cf24e21c02.html

"The public option, he said, "is an area that has just become symbolic of a lot of ideological fights." But, Obama added: "As a practical matter, this is not the most important aspect of this bill — the House bill or the Senate bill."

Only "a few million people" who buy into the insurance exchange set up in the bill would have benefited from the public option, he said.

"So it wasn’t like suddenly everybody would just go out there and buy a government-run plan," Obama said. "Most people will still get health insurance from their employers."

[pleah]

75. They can't or won't hear you.

I hear you and I haven't forgotten what he said.

[amborin]

87. i missed this! he also said it in his Sept 29, 2009 address to Congress!

[L0oniX]

93. The mutha fuckin son of a b***h ...good luck with that second term ...ASSCARROT!

...and I voted for him ...stupid me ...but what other choice did I have?

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

96. madfloridian - what is the source for your first paragraph in quotes?

I completely believe it because I remember statements exactly like that - but what exactly is your source and can you post the link, please?

[endless october]

45. so because they neutered the PO before taking it out...

it's somehow "symbolic?"

disagree. that was the last chance to bring down costs. if they hadn't made it nearly worthless before they removed it, it would have helped to bring down costs.

[Faryn Balyncd]

47. "5% difference" ................ He has become so full of shit it is embarrassing.

[amborin]

48. good art here on importance of public option:

<http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/12/21/817661/-What-the-Media-and-Obama-Never-Understood-About-the-Public-Option>

[live love laugh]

50. "I think people need to understand just how significant this is," Agreed.nt

[eleny]

51. Wait till election night next year, Mr. President

That'll be the first of many sleepless nights.

Try telling people that they just don't understand and see where it gets you then.

[Egnever]

57. By that time the myopic attention span of the american public and most posters on DU

will have long forgoten any of this and will be basking in the glow of other democratic wins.

[Selatius]

60. Hopefully, but I still remember the bloodbath of the 1994 elections post-NAFTA/post-health care fail

I do not want to live to see a repeat of Republican domination of both houses of Congress.

[w4rma]

54. Liar. (nt)

[LittleBlue]

55. I'll give him symbolic $ in the reelection campaign

He can spend those however he wishes.

[sabrina 1]

56. He sounds more and more like Rahm every day.

He's just smoother at it. 'Public Option' has come to mean 'left' to them. And they really do hate the 'left'. He's a DLCer through and through.

I should have let my better instincts be the guide when in the primaries, his bio and photo were found on the DLC website. They took it down as it caused such an uproar, and looking back, explained some of the other things that popped up every once in a while. There were denials that he was one of them and we wanted to believe is so we did.

But, what choice was there? Hillary would be doing exactly what he's doing. Only thing is, he lied about his position on Health Care when he needed the 'left'. He said he was against mandates and fines. She did not, and for many people that tipped the scales in his favor.

I guess that makes him smarter than her, or more something. He was willing to lie to appease the people he despised so he could get their votes, and it worked.

[juno jones]

81. And to compound that problem of veracity,

about the same time, Hillary was being outed for her little trip under 'gunfire' to Bosnia.

And yeah, we would have gotten the same thing from Hillary. I'm beginning to think that was the point.

From Ran Prieur's blog, a post that seemed to sum what I've felt up well.

December 14. Just over the last few weeks, it seems like America has turned a corner... a vertical corner. Our daily actions are the same, but on the level of mind, or spirit, we've dropped off a cliff. You can see it on the left, where the attitude toward Obama has flipped from excitement to disgust. You can see it on the right, where only a few elderly people still look like they're making arguments, and everyone else looks like they're having a seizure. And you can see it in the conspiracy crowd, who are telling increasingly ridiculous stories that this is all part of a plan, because the alternative is too troubling.

It is said that Obama is wearing a mask, being a deceiver, as if he carefully pretended to be a progressive activist for a quarter of a century because a time traveler from the future told him that would get him elected president in 2008 so he could pursue his secret right wing globalist agenda. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" -- but it's hard to imagine two presidents more different than Obama and Bush. The fact that the country is moving the same direction under each of them should tell us something else: the president is not the boss. Obama has never worn a mask -- Obama is the mask, and not a very good one. It has never been more obvious that America is an ossified dying empire with a suicidal inertia that no leader or movement can stop. If Sarah Palin, Dennis Kucinich, or Carrot Top were president, the system that the president pretends to run would still be bailing out banks and insurance companies, escalating wars, hiding atrocities, and generally chugging along to its ruin.

http://ranprieur.com/archives/028.html

I don't think change is going to effected from within this system. The intertia of empire is just too great.

[glitch]

84. I think you are correct. Obama is not the problem, he is another symptom.

Even better than Bush IMO because the change in course was so dramatic. And yes, I know he campaigned as a moderate/centrist, what I don't appreciate are his subsequent actions as a conservative, or even worse, corporatist. And I truly don't appreciate the implication that conservative is somehow "centrist". (not saying that to you, just pre-empting any bogus "you knew what he was when you voted for him" crap)

There is a great metaphor from David Korten about continually rescuing babies from a river, until finally going upstream and taking out the bastard who keeps throwing the babies in.

[juno jones]

101. Great metaphor.

:hi:

I'll be sure to look it up!

I have no hate for Obama but I know I freaking paid attention last year and am paying attention this year and something's a little smelly in Denmark, to paraphrase another metaphor.

It seems there may be something bigger than even the president ruling the country.

[dreamnightwind]

94. Interesting, I had not read that

I've been wondering about the same thing, as have many others of course.

I'm a little more cynical towards Obama, I think he really is "one of them" not "one of us", but I recognize that I could be wrong about this, and that it could be exactly the scenario described by Ran Prieur. If so, I would expect Obama and his administration to make some noise about this, and to stand up more to the powers that be, even if he can't win.

We the people need to know who's on our side and who isn't. If he can't get it done, he needs to go down swinging and give us a chance to rise up against the forces of empire.

Since he's doing none of that, I think it's more likely that he's the new emperor, albeit one who looks better naked than the last guy.

[juno jones]

102. Thing is

Whatever is going on has shown absolutely no compunction about eliminating those who stand in it's way.


It sickens me to think, but maybe Obama got offered the proverbial deal he couldn't refuse.

Edit to add: No doubt he gets to play emperor. It's expected. It's the system. But he ain't calling the shots, I bet.

[earth mom]

61. Hey Obama-There's nothing "symbolic" about screwing the American people over.

Just when I thought I couldn't get any more disgusted and or any angrier. :grr:

[Little Star]

64. Wow. What a slap in our faces. How sad.

[mmonk]

67. This was tweaking our current system and any of you who thought

otherwise were punked. And they seem quite pleased with punking some of their voters. There is a character flaw in that approach. They should have been straight up to begin with.

[Renew Deal]

68. I agree with this.

The public option, he said, "is an area that has just become symbolic of a lot of ideological fights."

[rusty fender]

70. Obama: "You mistook me for

someone who actually cares."

[Blue Owl]

74. A symbolic area that only 80% of America wants

The 20% majority is up to its old tricks again. Damn that 20% majority.

[Dr Fate]

77. My lack of donations to the DNC & DCCC have just become symbolic as well.

n/t

[tnlefty]

95. My donations to the DSCC and DCCC ended years ago because

all we ever had for candidates were Blue Dogs, etc. My donations to the DNC ended when Howard Dean left and he was replaced with Tim Kaine, who has anti-woman, anti-labor, anti-gay rights thinking. My phone banking, working elections just may cease, but I don't expect Rahm or much of anyone to care.

[Echo In Light]

78. As is our illusory, sham representative democracy; symbolic

[Hell Hath No Fury]

79. I only have this to say ---

"Any plan I sign must include an insurance exchange: a one-stop shopping marketplace where you can compare the benefits, cost and track records of a variety of plans - including a public option to increase competition and keep insurance companies honest - and choose what's best for your family." President Barack Obama

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/07/obama_says_health-care_reform.html



Fool me once....

[liberal_at_heart]

82. We'll see just how symbolic it is on election day

[bvar22]

88. "Symbolic"???....the HELL you say.

The "Public Option" was the thin front of the wedge that would have opened the door to Single Payer.

Without it, and MANDATES for the purchase of "Insurance" from the For Profit sector, that door is permanently nailed SHUT!.

[sendero]

89. Keep spinning....

... you know, I think Obama really thinks he can spin this bill into popularity with happy talk. After all it worked for Bush so why not?

Why not just assume that everyone is so fucking stupid they cannot tell when they are being cheated.

Good luck with that.

[rhett o rick]

90. yes it was symbolic and the corporatists decided the symbol needed to die. Send us a message.

NO Public Option, just STFU.

[clear eye]

104. So we won't get any ideas about any real gov't program

like "Medicare for All".

BTW, the corporatist media, including the NYT, keeps beating the drum to increase in conference the power over Medicare regulations that the Senate bill's new Presidentially appointed Medicare Commission will have. This is a group that the WH wants to essentially be allowed to legislate from the executive branch. As it stands now it only has authority over rates, but the WH wants a switch from the "fee for service" Medicare has always used, to a flat fee per patient model. This panel would be "medical experts" including some from the private insurance industry and some from Big Pharma appointed by each incoming President but not recallable. It would produce a package of changes to Medicare rates each December 1st to Congress. If the appointees are hostile to public Medicare, the changes may include essential adjustments due to inflation along w/ punitive rate cuts to the public portion that will so diminish the physician pool that public Medicare will start to resemble Medicaid, and only people who can't afford the better populated private Medicare plans will stay on it. They are not debatable or amendable and will become law unless Congress pulls off the miracle of uniting before Christmas to vote down the whole package, good and bad alike. (The requirement is by Dec. 30th.)

The WH, especially its head of OMB, Peter Orzag, tried mightily to pass an even more powerful version of this commission by itself, but was blocked in the House by Rep. Rangel. That version's language gave it the power to regulate just about anything that might be considered "cost-cutting", eg. putting a means test on the public portion of Medicare. So it's an indisputable fact that this more powerful commission is where the WH wants to go.

Once the public portion of Medicare is a crippled mess for the poor only, "Medicare for All" would lose its appeal.

[GreenTea]

92. Man, what a motherfuckering liar! Trying to downplay it before his pat himself on the back speech.

[lib2DaBone]

100. Symbolic Partisian Cooperation

[clear eye]

103. The way he wanted to do it, it would be "just symbolic".

His "public option" was to be outsourced to private not-for-profit insurers a la Blue Cross, and was not allowed to pay providers less than the private insurers did. They would be just another private entry in the exchange w/ possibly a little more gov't oversight.