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Today.
No Public Option Debate Until Tuesday
Posted by Kate Pickert Friday, September 25, 2009 at 10:02 am
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Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus just opened today's health reform bill markup by saying amendments related to a public option will not be introduced and debated until Tuesday. He said intends to close the hearing around noon today and won't reconvene the markup until Tuesday. Democratic Senators Jay Rockefeller and Chuck Schumer had said last night they intended a public option debate to happen today, but possibly because of the shortness of today's session, Baucus decided to put off the debate until next week.
Today.
I have a firm belief that no public option will be passed, because the Dems are pretty much spineless, and half of them are Blue Dogs anyways.
If anything gets passed at this point, it will be less effective than a bandaid.
I think the public option is toast. I also think that even without the public option congress will have no trouble whatsoever coming up with a plan that is both expensive and ineffective.
The elephant in the room is cost. Congress seems unwilling to gore anyone's ox, so as usual, the taxpayer gets gored.
"Congress seems unwilling to gore anyone's ox"
health racket industry already gores patients' oxen
It failed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday rejected including a government-run "public" insurance option, which is backed by President Barack Obama, in its sweeping healthcare reform bill.
The panel voted 15-8 against a government-run insurance plan in the first of what is expected to be several battles in Congress over the public option, one of the most contentious issues in the raging U.S. debate over healthcare reform.
Obama has made reforming the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system his top domestic priority.
Five Democrats joined all the panel Republicans in opposing inclusion of the government-run option in the bill. The issue is expected to be raised again in the full Senate and the House of Representatives.
The Senate Finance plan by Democratic Chairman Max Baucus is the only healthcare bill pending in Congress that does not have a public insurance plan, which Obama and other backers say would boost compe ion for insurers.
Republican critics said the public option would devastate the private insurance industry and ultimately lead to a government takeover of the sector.
Democratic Senator John Rockefeller, who offered an amendment to insert a public option, said the approach would give the public more choices and force the insurance industry to compete.
"Who comes first, the insurance companies or the American people?" he asked.
Senator Charles Grassley, the senior Republican on the panel, said the public option would represent a first step toward what he said was the eventual goal of Democrats -- a complete government-run health insurance system.
"A government-run plan will ultimately drive private insurers out of business," Grassley said. "If you support government bureaucrats, not doctors, making decisions, you should support this amendment."
(Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by David Storey)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090929/...hcare_option_3
Good thing it failed. Baucus proposed a good bill to only have it talked down. These current proposals are nothing but about power and wealth. Good vote Baucus!
That's only the Senate panel's vote on their plan, not the full senate vote on any plan. There are plans all with public option in the House.
The Fat Lady ain't sung, yet.
With no public option, there will be no reform passed.
The Baucus bill is all about preserving the backroom deal Obama made with the pharmaceutical lobby. It's about wealth, access and power too.
Obama better never ing sign this piece of . If he does I'll instantly hate him as much as DarrinS does. This kind of crap isn't what he was elected for.
I do think this is a distinct possibility. The progressive left is consistently told they need to shift right to be 'serious', but I don't think they'll shift on this one. It'd be nice to see backbone from the Progressive Dems on this issue.
I gotta say, I think the chances of ANY bill passing are slim to none.
The sad thing is, these are probably the best folks we got. Typical everyday heads running the govt. It's been this way for ages.
No it's not. It's more about co-ops and tax changes than anything else. If you have control over your plan management, it surely doesn't give pharmaceutical companies easy money.
Something will get passed and it won't include a public option. Democrats aren't going to allow a scenario where Obama gets egg on his face by not being able to get a bill pushed through despite having a supermajority in congress and making healthcare his #1 priority. The progressives in the democratic party will be bought off with a nice helping of pork and then they'll roll over and support something that's palatable to the blue dogs. And you can be sure that it will happen before the 2010 elections.
obama is never going to allow a public option. his health reform is way to slanted on the side of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.
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