is the public option back in??
Pepe Silvia
Posts: 3,758
i was kinda disappointed when i saw on fox news kucinich gave in to support the bill but then i read this!
http://newsjunkiepost.com/2010/03/15/br ... tion-bill/
Breaking: Public Option in House Reconciliation Bill
This afternoon the House Budget Committee reported The Reconciliation Act of 2010 to the House of Representatives by a vote of 21 yays to 16 nays. Included in the release is a Public Health Insurance Option on page 116.
The Public Option appears to have made it into the last incarnation of a reconciliation bill in the US House. There has been immense pressure for 10 months over this component to health care reform, with those on the right comparing to socialized medicine and those on the left considering their fall back position, their line in the sand.
On page 116 of the document, released in pdf form and available for everyone to read on the budget.house.gov website, it reads:
Subtitle B- Public Health Insurance Option
Section 221. Establishment and Administration of a Public Health Insurance Option as an Exchange-Qualified Health Benefits Plan.
(a) Establishment – For years beginning with Y1, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide for the offering of an Exchange-participating health benefits plan that ensures choice, competition, and stability of affordable, high quality coverage throughout the United States in accordance with this subtitle. In designing the option, the Secretary’s primary responsibility is to create a low cost plan without compromising quality of access to care.
(b) Offering as an Exchange-Participating Health Benefits Plan.
1. The public health insurance option shall only be made available through the Health Insurance Exchange.
2. The Public Option shall ensure a level playing field.
3. The public Option shall offer basic, enhanced, and premium plans.
Soon after, it continues:
Section 222. Premiums and Financing
(a) (1) The Secretary shall establish geographically-adjusted premium rates for the public option.
If this is correct, that would translate into a version of the Public Option where prices would not be dictated by the very health insurance corporations who have jacked up prices over and over over the last decade. Premiums have shot up 90% since Bush was elected in 2000. Last year, the profits of the top 5 giants (Wellpoint, UnitedHealth, Cigna, Aetna, and Humana) rose by 56%. The cost of health insurance is projected to nearly double again by 2020 with the lack of real reform. To protect their scheme, these corporations have fought hard to preserve their hold on highly consolidated markets, and keep any version of a Public Option out of the plan.
Whether or not there are the necessary votes to pass the reconciliation bill are a matter of some debate. Never the less, the inclusion of a Public Health Insurance Option certainly seems to be a big win for reformers.
http://newsjunkiepost.com/2010/03/15/br ... tion-bill/
Breaking: Public Option in House Reconciliation Bill
This afternoon the House Budget Committee reported The Reconciliation Act of 2010 to the House of Representatives by a vote of 21 yays to 16 nays. Included in the release is a Public Health Insurance Option on page 116.
The Public Option appears to have made it into the last incarnation of a reconciliation bill in the US House. There has been immense pressure for 10 months over this component to health care reform, with those on the right comparing to socialized medicine and those on the left considering their fall back position, their line in the sand.
On page 116 of the document, released in pdf form and available for everyone to read on the budget.house.gov website, it reads:
Subtitle B- Public Health Insurance Option
Section 221. Establishment and Administration of a Public Health Insurance Option as an Exchange-Qualified Health Benefits Plan.
(a) Establishment – For years beginning with Y1, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide for the offering of an Exchange-participating health benefits plan that ensures choice, competition, and stability of affordable, high quality coverage throughout the United States in accordance with this subtitle. In designing the option, the Secretary’s primary responsibility is to create a low cost plan without compromising quality of access to care.
(b) Offering as an Exchange-Participating Health Benefits Plan.
1. The public health insurance option shall only be made available through the Health Insurance Exchange.
2. The Public Option shall ensure a level playing field.
3. The public Option shall offer basic, enhanced, and premium plans.
Soon after, it continues:
Section 222. Premiums and Financing
(a) (1) The Secretary shall establish geographically-adjusted premium rates for the public option.
If this is correct, that would translate into a version of the Public Option where prices would not be dictated by the very health insurance corporations who have jacked up prices over and over over the last decade. Premiums have shot up 90% since Bush was elected in 2000. Last year, the profits of the top 5 giants (Wellpoint, UnitedHealth, Cigna, Aetna, and Humana) rose by 56%. The cost of health insurance is projected to nearly double again by 2020 with the lack of real reform. To protect their scheme, these corporations have fought hard to preserve their hold on highly consolidated markets, and keep any version of a Public Option out of the plan.
Whether or not there are the necessary votes to pass the reconciliation bill are a matter of some debate. Never the less, the inclusion of a Public Health Insurance Option certainly seems to be a big win for reformers.
don't compete; coexist
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
Rep. Alan Grayson’s “Medicare You Can Buy Into Act” Attracts 50 Co-Sponsors
With the Democrat-led push for healthcare reform in its final stages, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) introduces “The Public Option Act,” a measure that would allow people under sixty-five to buy into Medicare. The bill has attracted fifty co-sponsors.
If this bill gets enough push, then Medicare will become available for anyone who wants to buy into it. Forget all those convoluted Public Option / Exchange / whathaveyou terms... this could be the kicker:
REP. ALAN GRAYSON: I’ve introduced a simple three-and-a-half-page bill that opens up Medicare to anybody who wants it. If you want it and you pay for it, it’s yours. It’s that simple. It’s open to everybody under the age of sixty-five, whether or not you’re handicapped. And you pay the same amount as other people your age would pay.
And the reason to do this is because we need a public option. We need an option that doesn’t involve putting us at the tender mercies of insurance companies, particularly if there’s a mandate to do so. A lot of people feel that there is a fundamental conflict of interest between themselves and private insurance companies. The private insurance companies make money by denying you the care that you need to be healthy, and sometimes to stay alive. And a lot of people are just sick of it.
So the way to get beyond that is to open up Medicare, which is now available to only one-eighth of the population, to anybody who’s willing to pay for it. And it makes perfect sense when you think about it. I mean, we don’t say the federal highways are only open to senior citizens. And the Medicare provider network is an enormously valuable, expensive thing that we’ve created with federal tax dollars that ought to be open to everyone, not just seniors.