Posted on 11/01/2009 2:53:17 PM PST by opentalk
What's all the fuss about? After all the noise over Democrats' push for a government insurance plan to compete with private carriers, coverage numbers are finally in: Two percent. That's the estimated share of Americans younger than 65 who'd sign up for the public option plan under the health care bill that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is steering toward House approval.
The underwhelming statistic is raising questions about whether the government plan will be the iron-fisted competitor that private insurers warn will shut them down or a niche operator that becomes a haven for patients with health insurance horror stories.
Some experts are wondering if lawmakers have wasted too much time arguing about the public plan, giving short shrift to basics such as ensuring that new coverage will be affordable.
"The public option is a significant issue, but its place in the debate is completely out of proportion to its actual importance to consumers," said Drew Altman, president of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. "It has sucked all the oxygen out of the room and diverted attention from bread-and-butter consumer issues, such as affordable coverage and comprehensive benefits."
The Democratic health care bills would extend coverage to the uninsured by providing government help with premiums and prohibiting insurers from excluding people in poor health or charging them more. But to keep from piling more on the federal deficit, most of the uninsured will have to wait until 2013 for help. Even then, many will have to pay a significant share of their own health care costs.
The latest look at the public option comes from the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan economic analysts for lawmakers.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
But it costs many.
Liar Liar Pants on Fire ! Then why pass it?
A good number of the "insurance horror story" folks need procedures and medicines that are arguably "experimental" ~ and that right there is where Obamacare will cut them off.
AP Doesn’t get it. Why let them takeover 1/6th of our economy to cover 2 percent? You could buy them all plans cheaper.
control and power over the little people
AP???
Nice try, libs.
Won’t work.
Your logic is about as useful as that of a GM executive.
Look on the wall, close to the lobby of any Hospital.
You will find, posted on that wall, the LAW, which states that nobody can be turned down for care, based on ability to pay!
Now, tell me, why is it wrong for a hospital to then send a bill collector after you, to pay your debt, if you can not pay, after emergency room care?
Think about your answer.
OK, now, under Obamacare, if you can't or won't pay for your own health insurance policy -— the IRS will come after you, the State might come after you, and they will ruin your credit with tax liens and Medicaid liens!
So, who would you rather deal with?
The hospital bill collector, or the IRS and Medicaid Estate Recovery?
Control. It has never been about health care or health insurance. It's all about POWER & CONTROL! Anyone who hasn't figured that out yet hasn't been paying attention to what Obama, et al, have been doing.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find only things evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelogus
wait a minute....this is from the AP.......I thought they were blind but now they see..what happened
This bill is one of several assaults on our freedom and way of life. It would basically give the Federal Government total control over every aspect of our lives.
This bill, the Cap and Trade bill, and the Copenhagen treaty talks are many-pronged assaults that, if any are passed/ratified, would mean the destruction of our country.
The libs are smart. They know that the American people have become so complacent they will probably give up fighting so many different battles and thus let the Marxists win.
I seem to recall Hawaii trying out a public health insurance option for low income children, that was billed as “only going to cover a small number of children”. As I recall, they killed it after about half the kids in the state had been pulled out of private insurance and put on the public plan.
The Democrat response to the health care industry's problems is certainly disproportionate.
Let me rephrase that. If this bill passes and Obama signs it into law, NO MEMBER OF CONGRESS will be safe. They'll have to move them into a brand new prison-like barracks near the US Capitol building just to keep disgruntled non-bill payers from hunting them down like animals.
That FBI list of 400,000 kind of dangerous people to watch will turn into a list of 1,000,000 really dangerous people to hide from!
Should take about 3 months for that to happen since that's all the time needed for folks hardpressed by the Obama Depression to start tallying up plenty of medical bills/taxes they can't and won't pay!
It has never been about Health care It has always been about control.
I've noticed they go into attack mode, when anyone suggests this, I think they are counting on rest of stimulus to boost economy just before elections.
they were put on the enemies list. Ex-Friends, The Associated Press joins the White House enemies list.
another scam
That’s because it has nothing to do with real healthcare.
How’s that hopey changey going for you Obama voters? Has he broken you enough to see which way the wind is really blowing?
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