Short, simple, and to the point.
The next big step in this process: the Senate Finance Committee will vote on its version of the health care bill on Tuesday, finally giving Senate majority leader Harry Reid something to reconcile with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s bill, which was voted on earlier this year.
The Senate Finance bill won’t include a full public option, but it will include what Slate‘s Timothy Noah has called a “public option lite,” an amendment sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Del.) that would let states use their purchasing power to leverage discounts for low-income people on the private insurance market and/or push for insurance companies to cover the uninsured. There’s no public plan here–but there is an explicit accounting for the ability of state governments to throw their weight around in order to help poor and uninsured people acquire coverage.
Is this good? Bad? Hard to say–for public option supporters, the appeal of Cantwell’s amendment rests on (a) how much they think the “public” in the public option is necessary, and (b) the extent to which they think a true public option is a real political possibility. Unfortunately, Democrats have been pretty coy on this second point: some powerful Senators have already said “no way” to the public option, while others continue to speak of it as though the public option has a real shot at passing.
Niko Karvounis
Niko Karvounis' writing has appeared in popular publications like Slate, Mother Jones, and AlterNet, as well as specialty journals such as Medicare Patient Management and Theoretical Criminology. His work has been cited by the New York Times, National Journal, The American Prospect, ...
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Kevin says:
Health care rushing through shorter time than it took BO to pick a dog. Shouldn't we as a nation assure ourselves that Obama is legally President before letting him tell us if we can see a doctor or not? Who gave him this power? He hasn't even given a birth certificate yet so WHO IS HE? Republicans are the only ones asking these tough questions, and it will serve them well in 2010 because BO has NO ANSWER to this. He just has no proof he was born here, and there's plenty showing he was born in Kenya.
Leder says:
How can we let Obama take over our health care if he hasn't even proven he's legally President yet? NO BIRTH CERTIFICATE = NOT MY PRESIDENT Thank you for standing up for what's right. We need one of our own kind in the White house, not a Kenyan usurper. Pray to God Republicans can at least take back the legislature in 2010!
Jimmy Luther King says:
Leder and the rest of you insane birthers- Take notice: Regardless of what you think, the Law says that Obama is President. If he's not your President, then you are a traitor to the United States of America and should be treated as such.