Posted on 08/16/2009 2:29:50 PM PDT by Steelfish
White House Appears Open to Insurance Co-ops
JOSEPH BERGER August 16, 2009
The Obama administration sent signals on Sunday that it has backed away from its once-firm vision of a government organization to provide for the nation’s 50 million uninsured and is now open to using nonprofit cooperatives instead.
Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, said on Sunday morning that an additional government insurer is “not the essential element” of the administration’s plan to overhaul the country’s health care system.
“I think there will be a competitor to private insurers,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “That’s really the essential part, is you don’t turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing. We need some choices, we need some competition.”
Her less-than-forceful insistence on a government insurance organization was paralleled by Robert Gibbs, the president’s press secretary.
“What I am saying is the bottom line for this for the president is, what we have to have is choice and competition in the insurance market,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
The administration, mindful of steadfast Republican opposition to a government insurer in addition to Medicaid and Medicare, has previously indicated that it could accept nonprofit insurance cooperatives as an alternative, and the Senate Finance Committee appears to be forming a bipartisan consensus around the idea of nonprofit insurance cooperatives.
The health care industry prefers that format, even though many liberal Democrats have argued that cooperatives would not have as much sway over the prices Americans pay for health care.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
NO
It is no better than the public option. The entire bill is a bad idea fro the mandates to the health & death panels, the entire bill should be scrapped.
Starting to smell like they pushed as hard for the public option as possible to flush out the opposition, then will counter with a more “acceptable” co-op option.
It’s all incrementalism... This “reform” needs to be voted down entirely and Congress wiped clean next year.
Just about too late to save the Republic...
No.
It appears they are just changing the name. They aren’t dropping anything. What don’t they get about NO? We don’t trust them to fix anything. Don’t be fooled.
Gibbs is a cheap tool. zer0 got His yellow liberal ass handed to him and all the other socialist takers out there in this great land.
By people who read this web site.
KOS KITTENS will be up set about this.
Ha Ha Ha
go get a job
Kill the bill.
Blue Cross is non-profit. Duhhh.
I smell a slimy Demo-trick
“What I am saying is the bottom line for this for the president is, what we have to have is choice and competition in the insurance market,”
Humana, Blue Cross, and name any other insurance company.
Sounds like there’s already competition
Co-op instead of Public Option -
A Distinction without a Difference
They will be called “cooperatives” but in reality will be “collectives.” Profit will not be a motive in their operation. They will consistently receive government funding (tax dollars) to stay afloat and put private insurers out of business. Same result. Different tactic. And RINOs are dumb enough to fall for it.
Democrats are desperate to not have this go down as strictly a Democrat plan
NOPE!
I say NO too. But, if the article is correct, it looks like the Republicans have already flashed a green light on this.
Time to visit the Republican town halls,, shouting.
THEY are the weakest link now.
Taxpayers like us are going to pay for it. Savers like us will have their capital gains taxed at a higher rate. Savers, you are suckers...the government is sitting there waiting to push you aside and grab your pot. The government is laughing its a## off at you.
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