Dems Agree to Drop Government-Run Insurance Option

oh lieberman, how will you best be remembered.

I'm going to remember you best in Jordan, helping the Republican Senator from Arizona, who was supposed to be the experienced one on foreign affairs whispering sweet Shia/Sunnis in his ear during the campaign.

 

Lieberman reveals he apposed Medicare buy-in because Liberals liked the idea too much.

And he [Lieberman] said he was particularly troubled by the overly enthusiastic reaction to the proposal by some liberals, including Representative Anthony Weiner, Democrat of New York, who champions a fully government-run health care system.

“Congressman Weiner made a comment that Medicare-buy in is better than a public option, it’s the beginning of a road to single-payer,” Mr. Lieberman said. “Jacob Hacker, who’s a Yale professor who is actually the man who created the public option, said, ‘This is a dream. This is better than a public option. This is a giant step.’”

 

Business as usual continues in congress.

 

The Dems remind me of an abused spouse who keeps taking it. Time to cut the cord. Take away that jerks committee asignments. The GOP would not put up with this bs.

 

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/industries.php?cid=N00000616&cycle=2010

 

goodness, this is how legislation should work, I don't know what some of you guys expect, you can't make people do crap they don't want even if they are democrats.

if some dems are scared to vote for these progressive measures, what can you do? this is more about the system, needing a sixty-forty majority to avoid filibuster is ridiculous.

 

The Dems need to keep pushing Medicare for 55 plus crowd, even if they lose. Let the issue be known. I have many friends in this group and they were ecstatic. Many have spouses who are not working due to age dsicrimination, health problems etc. Some are just keeping their job because of the health insurance and would like to be a consultant or start their own business, but need the corporate backed insurance etc. I'm sure there are folks who just have enough money and would go for early retirement , but can't risk going without insurance.

This move will hurt any of you under 55 crowed who might like to be promoted to the positions of any of the folks above you who are just holding the job primarily for insurance purposes.

I know all the conservatives and libertarians are fantastically talented, smart and already at the top of the food chain in their late 20's and 30's.

Most likely just blinded by conservative think tank/pr talking points widely distrbuted to the point where it just seems like common sense or the way the world just is.

 

Howard Dean says Senate Bill is not worth passing.
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Howard Dean says ‘Kill the Senate bill!’
US politician and physician Howard Dean (C) wi...

Image by AFP/Getty Images via Daylife

In a pre-recorded interview given today by Howard Dean and set to air at 5:30pm EST on Vermont Public Radio, Dean has called for the Senate health care bill to be put to death as it no longer proposes enough reform to make a difference. Dean’s comments come in reaction to what appears to be the Democratic Caucus’ decision to remove both the Medicare buy-in and a public option from the Senate health care reform package.

In an excerpt of the interview given by Vermont Public Radio to Greg Sargent of The Plum Line blog on whorunsgov.com, Dean says –

This is essentially the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate. Honestly the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill, go back to the House, start the reconciliation process, where you only need 51 votes and it would be a much simpler bill.

http://trueslant.com/rickungar/2009/12/15/howard-dean-says-‘kill-the-senate-bill’/

 

So at this point is it possible to just put through a bill that fixes buying out of state and does away with pre-existing conditions?

Instead of scrapping everything why not run through the insurance regulations and take another run at the other stuff later?

 

If there is not going to be a PO or Medicare buy-in then the mandate requiring people to buy healthcare should be dropped.

this is getting worse and worse

 

yeah if it isn't i think the insurance company job market will be expanding.

 

That's what they are doing. There is still a lot of good in the bill (that's why it's going to pass). It just won't be the sweeping change progressives were hoping for.

 

Doesn't it have the mandates though? If it is now just insurance company reform then what is the problem? Why do they want to scuttle it? They still have this super majority through 2010 at least.

 

rumors have it that democrats pass what they can now and then pass the PO attached to a future spending bill through reconciliation.

 

This is what will likely happen sometime in the future if the Dems retain the majority for a while. The single-payer zealots need screw their heads back on because the world won't end with this bill.