House Dems reintroduce Legislation to Create Socialized Healthcare...

The public option has reared it's ugly head again...

Via The Hill:

Dozens of House Democrats on Tuesday reintroduced legislation that would amend the 2010 healthcare law to create a government-run health insurance option, or a so-called “public option.”

The Public Option Deficit Reduction Act, H.R. 261, was introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), along with 44 other House Democrats.

Congress considered the creation of a government-run healthcare plan during the debate over the healthcare law, but it was eventually removed of the final bill that passed in 2010. Schakowsky says bringing it back would help reduce insurance premiums.

“Obamacare is already helping millions of Americans get the health care they need, but it can be made even better,” she said. “The Public Option Deficit Reduction Act will give health care consumers more choice and lower their premiums.”

Her bill would set up a government-run plan that would provide premiums that are 5 to 7 percent lower than private insurance plans. This, she said, would “put pressure on all insurers to lower their premiums in order to compete.”

Liberal Heartache: Rep. Anthony Weiner says he’s “still pissed” that Democrats gave up on public option

I have always thought Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) looked like he could use some time in anger management.

(The Hill)- Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) says he’s “still pissed” that Democrats gave up on including a public option in their healthcare reform bill.

On the heels of a federal judge’s ruling on Monday striking down the entirety of President Obama’s healthcare law as unconstitutional, Weiner expressed regret that his party abandoned a government-run health insurance option.

Obama tries to comfort House liberals with hopes of public options to come

We have to wonder exactly what President Obama means by "foundation of reform." Since Obama reiterates his support for the 'public option,' we might take a guess.

The Huffington Post reported:

Obama argued to the group of progressive members that his health care reform bill should be looked at as the foundation of reform, that can be built on in the future. He asked them to help gather votes for the final health care battle and promised that as soon as the bill was signed into law, he’d continue to push to make it stronger. But in a matter of weeks, he stressed, he could sign into law legislation that would lead to 31 million new people being insured, including the woman who wrote him…

“He just said that the public option, something that he has supported along the way, is not something that we can pass...

House Liberals Ready to Cave On Public Option

House liberals are signaling they are ready to cave on the public option in order to pass Obamacare.

From an Interview with the Top House Liberal:

I asked Grijalva if he could support the bill if such a change were made, even if it lacked a public option or other similar concessions sought by liberals…

Asked if he was suggesting that he’s open to supporting such an outcome, Grijalva answered in the affirmative, but insisted that he would have to evaluate the changes in conference before making any decision....

Health Care Rationing Begins In California

When the government is involved in your health care, decisions will not always be made on what's best for your health. Politics and budgetary considerations will play a large role. This is one of the reasons Republicans are opposed to the public-option health care plan in the Democrat's bill.

The NC Times reported:

The eligibility age for state-subsidized breast cancer screening has been raised from 40 to 50 by the California Health and Human Services Agency, which will also temporarily stop enrollment in the breast cancer screening program.

Joe Lieberman says no to public option

Independent Senator Joe Lieberman said today he will back a GOP filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s health care reform bill unless the public option is removed. No Republican Senator is expected to vote for Reid’s health care reform bill. This leaves Majority Leader Reid short of the 60 votes he needs for cloture. Although Lieberman may vote for cloture to allow the Senate bill to be debated, he is saying he will not vote for cloture when it comes to voting the bill out of the Senate.

From Politico:

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Tuesday that he’d back a GOP filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s health care reform bill.

Obama Flashback: "WE are not going to pass Universal Health Care with a fifty plus one strategy

Harry Reid is shoving the public option into the Senate version of health care reform. He doesn't appear to have a single Republican vote and is struggling to get a 60 plus majority to stop the filibuster. Senator Reid needs to remember President Obama's words.

WaPo Tries to Prop Up Public Option with Phony Poll

The Washington Post is touting a poll that shows 57% of Americans support a public run option for health care reform.

As Democratic congressional leaders and White House officials work to shape health care bills that will go to the House and Senate floors, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows and now wins clear majority support from the public.

On the issue that has been a flash point in the national debate, 57 percent of all Americans now favor a public insurance option, while 40 percent are opposed. Support has risen since mid-August, when a bare majority, 52 percent, said they favored it. (In a June Post-ABC poll, support had been at 62 percent.)

Hidden in the last paragraph on page two is this nugget:

Only 20 percent of adults identify themselves as Republicans, little changed in recent months, but still the lowest single number in Post-ABC polls since 1983. Political independents continue to make up the largest group, at 42 percent of respondents; 33 percent see themselves as Democrats.

Only 20% of the respondents to this poll were Republicans. The most accurate pollster during the 2008 election cycle finds that 32% of voters now identify themselves as Republicans.


Graphic from Rasmussen.

In Great Britain, the public option is a death sentence for many elderly

In Great Britain, the elderly are being denied treatment and left to die. Read how one woman had to fight to save her mother. Do you really want a system similar to this in America?

From Times Online:

AN 80-year-old grandmother who doctors identified as terminally ill and left to starve to death has recovered after her outraged daughter intervened.

Hazel Fenton, from East Sussex, is alive nine months after medics ruled she had only days to live, withdrew her antibiotics and denied her artificial feeding. The former school matron had been placed on a controversial care plan intended to ease the last days of dying patients.

Obama Privately Pushing Hard for Public Option

President Obama has publicly stated support for a public option, but, recently, he has been missing in action in this debate. The Chicago Tribune is reporting Obama is working hard behind the scenes to make sure some sort of public option is included in the Senate version of the bill.

From the Chicago Tribune:

WASHINGTON - -- Despite months of seeming ambivalence about creating a government health insurance plan, the Obama White House has launched an intensifying behind-the-scenes campaign to get divided Senate Democrats to take up some version of the idea in the weeks just ahead.

Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters afraid of being forced to change coverage under Obamacare

According to a new Rasmussen poll, Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters fear being forced to change coverage under Obamacare.

Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters nationwide say guaranteeing that no one is forced to change their health insurance coverage is a higher priority than giving consumers the choice of a "public option" health insurance company.

Only twenty-nine percent (29%) think having a public option is a priority.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 29% take the opposite view. They say it’s more important to give people a government-sponsored non-profit health insurance option.

Harry Reid: "We are going to have a public option before this bill goes to the president's desk"

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has promised his constituents there will be a public option in the health care reform bill that goes to President Obama's desk.

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said today there will be a "public option" in whatever health insurance reform bill comes out of Congress.

"We are going to have a public option before this bill goes to the president's desk," Reid said in a conference call with constituents, referring to some kind of government plan.

This is in spite of opposition to President Obama and the Democrats plan by 56% of voters.

Just 41% of voters nationwide now favor the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s down two points from a week ago and the lowest level of support yet measured.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% are opposed to the plan.

With such strong opposition by the public, Senator Reid will need a "dirty trick" to get this bill through Congress. He has a plan.

President Obama and liberals in Congress seem intent on passing comprehensive health care reform, even though polls suggest it is unpopular with the American people. And despite the potential political risks to moderate Democrats, the President and left-wing leadership in Congress are determined to pass the measure using a rare parliamentary procedure.

The Senate plans to attach Obamacare to a House-passed non-healthcare bill. Ironically, nobody knows what that legislation looks like, because it has not yet been written. Yet many members plan to rubber-stamp Obamacare without reading or understanding the bill.

Senator Tom Coburn schools a "public option" supporter (Video)

Senator Tom Coburn takes on a "public option" supporter. He makes a great case against the public option. The crowd obviously agrees with him.

Obama Plans to Drop Public Option

After watching his poll numbers plummet to new lows, President Obama appears to be ready to throw the "public option" government run health care plan under the bus. Politico is reporting Obama is going to get more involved in health care reform after the August break. He is going to specify what he want in a bill, but he will not insist on a "public option" plan. This change of course may help Obama get some kind of "face saving" health care legislation to a vote, but his already fading popularity with Democrats may take a hit.

Politico reported:

...And although House leaders have said their members will demand the inclusion of a public insurance option, Obama has no plans to insist on it himself, the officials said....

Top officials privately concede the past six weeks have taken their toll on Obama's popularity.

Democrats New Plan: Soft Sell the Public Option

Image found here.

After failing to get a vote on health care reform before the August break and taking a beating at town halls across America, Democrats are searching for a new plan to make Obamacare acceptable to the public. One new strategy is to "soft sell" the public option as something that will take place in the distant future.

From Politico:

Clyburn, for his part, is advocating a “two step” approach in which the most widely supported health insurance reforms, like coverage for pre-existing conditions, go into effect immediately, while the public option is framed as a distant step — something that would go into effect in 2013, only after benchmarks and pilot programs are studied.

Clyburn has proposed setting up modest pilot programs for the public option in certain regions or states — an experimental way of seeing whether these health exchanges can actually work at the local level before they go nationwide.

Team Obama wants to resuscitate public-option

Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said a government run health insurance option "is not an essential part" of reform. The left went 'bonkers." Read some comments from Democratic Underground.

Depressing. Our leaders have sold us out.

What happened to Presidents who said "The Buck Stops Here" and acted accordingly?

Make no mistake about it. Obama has sold us out. He's going to force everyone into Romneycare where you buy junk policies that wont cover doodley-squat. And the beancounters will be able to deny even more care. Meanwhile, the racketeering CEO's will get to double their bloated salaries. This is just more corporate welfare.

So much for "Taking On The Private Interests".

i think the idea is they lie like a rug about what he wants and then pass a sham bill quickly

But at least 20 of the Dem Senators are traitors and appeasers including the "leader".

No more donating to the DNC

Get ready for a GOP Congress in 2010. It's a rerun of Clinton all over again

Embarrassed to say that I totally believed him

Get ready for Speaker Boner, Majority Leader Frog Face, and President Palin in 2013The Dems are not getting any more money, volunteer time, or even votes from me. I've been voting Dem since 1978, and it's over.

Team Obama is in full retreat.

An administration official said tonight that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "misspoke" when she told CNN this morning that a government run health insurance option "is not an essential part" of reform. This official asked not to be identified in exchange for providing clarity about the intentions of the President. The official said that the White House did not intend to change its messaging and that Sebelius simply meant to echo the president, who has acknowledged that the public option is a tough sell in the Senate and is, at the same time, a must-pass for House Democrats, and is not, in the president's view, the most important element of the reform package.

A second official, Linda Douglass, director of health reform communications for the administration, said that President Obama believed that a public option was the best way to reduce costs and promote competition among insurance companies, that he had not backed away from that belief, and that he still wanted to see a public option in the final bill.

"Nothing has changed.," she said. "The President has always said that what is essential that health insurance reform lower costs, ensure that there are affordable options for all Americans and increase choice and competition in the health insurance market. He believes that the public option is the best way to achieve these goals."

Team Obama May Throw "Public Option" Under the Bus

In a move sure to enrage the liberal left, the Obama administration has signaled they are willing to drop a government run heath insurance option from the health care reform bills. Team Obama is getting desperate to salvage anything they can call a victory from the health care reform disaster. However, it may not be Blue Dog Democrats that kill the deal. Liberal Democrats may revolt if the government run "public option" is dropped.

From AP via Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's administration signaled on Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run health insurance as part of his ambitious health care proposal.

Facing mounting opposition to the overhaul, administration officials left open the chance for a compromise with Republicans that would include health insurance cooperatives. Such a concession is likely to enrage his liberal supporters but could deliver Obama a much-needed win on a top domestic priority opposed by GOP lawmakers.

Officials from both political parties reached across the aisle in an effort to find compromises on proposals they left behind when they returned to their districts for an August recess.

Obama has been pressing for the government to run a health insurance organization to help cover the nation's almost 50 million uninsured, but Republicans remain steadfast in arguing against it.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that government alternative to private health insurance is "not the essential element" of the administration's health care overhaul. The White House would be open to co-ops, she said, a sign that Democrats want a compromise so they can declare a victory on the showdown.