President Obama is calling on Congress to add the public option to the Affordable Care Act.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

President Obama is calling on Congress to add a “public option” to ObamaCare to improve his signature health law. 

The pitch from Obama comes after he abandoned pursuit of a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers during the long legislative battle over healthcare because of opposition from some Democrats in Congress. 

“Public programs like Medicare often deliver care more cost-effectively by curtailing administrative overhead and securing better prices from providers,” Obama writes in the Journal of the American Medical Association. 

“The public plan did not make it into the final legislation. Now, based on experience with the ACA, I think Congress should revisit a public plan to compete alongside private insurers in areas of the country where competition is limited,” writes the president. 

The new embrace from the president also comes amid what appears to be a concerted push by the Democratic Party to rally around the public option.

I have to take issue with that last paragraph.

This is not a "new embrace" for the President. On the contrary. 

You see Obamacare was ALWAYS about laying the groundwork for a public option. Always.

That was something that even America's national moron Sarah Palin recognized way back in 2014.

Now the Bernie Sanders supporters are going to start beating their chests and calling this a victory for their side, but it is anything but.

In fact forcing the President to talk about this publicly before the election is not a good thing at all.

You see sometimes in politics a little subterfuge is the best way to get policies through, rather than simply attempting to ram it through with aggressive tactics, public shaming, and energizing your base.

That is why I cringed so hard when Bernie was talking about pushing the ACA aside in favor of his version of a public option. Simply put that was NEVER going to happen.

On the other hand Hillary Clinton has been in the circle of trust since the very beginnings of Obamacare, and she knows what's up. And she knows what is supposed to happen next.

In fact I wrote about it myself way back in 2012: 

When the Affordable Care Act was passed WITHOUT the public option, I know a lot of people were really upset. Myself included. 

But then I read somewhere, and I wish I could remember where, that this was just the first step of Obama's ultimate plan, and that once the bill had passed it would be tweaked, and tweaked until the programs offered had finally forced most of the health care insurers out of business, and then we would, for all intents and purposes, move to the single payer health care system that the progressives had long been hoping for.

I still can't find that article, and I looked for it so I could add it to this post.

But I do remember that it was written by one of the folks who worked on the ACA, and in it he assured the readers that the public option was not dead, that it was part of the plan, but that we would have to remain patient.

I believe that President Obama coming out publicly now, was NOT part of that plan. He wanted the tweaks and improvements to occur without garnering too much public attention.

In other word THIS statement is designed to appease the Sanders supporters who are threatening to take their balls and go home. It was not a politically strategic move designed to actually get that public option added to the ACA.

In fact now that it has been said so publicly it is much less likely that it will to come to pass.

You see Hillary understands that the best way to improve access to good affordable health care right now is to do a little horse trading and to use a little diplomacy with politicians from across the aisle who are ready to deal and recognize that their constituents sent them to Washington to get things done.

These are things that Hillary Clinton is extremely adept at doing. She was even complimented by Republicans while she was in the Senate for these very skills.

She also understands the power of keeping things close to the chest.

Unlike Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and President Obama do not show their cards before they are ready to win the pot. They know that their opponents are constantly looking for anything that they can use to justify throwing up more obstacles and sabotaging progress.

In simpler terms, Hillary Clinton and President Obama are playing chess, while the Republicans are playing checkers.

However it appears for all intents and purposes as it Bernie Sanders is playing Connect Four.

And that is why he was not the right choice to move forward with President Obama's agenda.

CBO issues list of provisions for lowering the deficit. A big one is to offer a public option for health care.

Courtesy of FDL:  

The CBO found that a public option based on Medicare would reduce the deficit by $158 billion through reduced spending and increased revenue. 

The reason a public option would be so effective at reducing the deficit is that it would significantly lower premiums for millions of regular Americans and businesses. This would, in turn, reduce the amount of subsidies the government would need to spend to make insurance “affordable.” From the CBO: 

"In the Congressional Budget Office’s estimation, premiums for the public plan would be between 7 percent and 8 percent lower, on average, during the 2016–2023 period than premiums for private plans offered in the exchanges—mainly because the public plan’s payment rates for providers would generally be lower than those of private plans. In addition, the public plan would be likely to have lower administrative costs than private plans. However, CBO expects that the public plan would be less inclined than private plans to use benefit management techniques (such as narrow provider networks, utilization review, and prior-approval requirements) to control spending. [...] 

One rationale for adding a public plan to the exchanges is that it would help reduce premiums for some individuals, families, and employers who would buy insurance through the exchanges but would not qualify for subsidies. Premiums would be reduced both because the public plan would be one of the lowest-cost plans available in many areas and because adding a low-cost option would increase the competitive pressure on private plans,leading them to decrease their premiums." 

A public option would inherently make insurance cheaper for people, and the government could use the deficit reductions to pay for increased exchange subsidies which would bring down what regular people need to pay even further.

I think with the recent debacle demonstrated by the problems with the website and the fact that the insurance companies clearly stabbed the President in the back, indicates that the government needs to take some drastic measures to draw a line in the sand and offer an affordable health care plan that would force the insurance companies to stop playing games and start competing on a more level playing field.

Of course this is EXACTLY what the Right Wing has feared all along. Which of course only makes it that much better of an idea.

Besides aren't THEY the ones always complaining about the deficit?

The return of the Public Option...well sort of.

Courtesy of TPM:

House Democrats on Tuesday introduced the “Public Option Deficit Reduction Act,” which would provide consumers the choice to opt into a government-run health insurance plan in the Obamacare exchanges. 

The bill, which almost certainly cannot pass in the Republican-controlled House, is a mostly symbolic effort meant to keep the public option alive as a policy prescription. It is sponsored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), who is on the Energy & Commerce health subcommittee, along with Energy & Commerce Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-CA) and 43 other lawmakers. 

“The Public Option Deficit Reduction Act will give health care consumers more choice and lower their premiums,” said Schakowsky. “And, by providing a lower-cost alternative to private insurance, it would put pressure on all insurers to lower their premiums in order to compete.” 

Citing an earlier estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Schakowsky expects it to reduce the deficit by some $100 billion over 10 years by boosting competition among insurers and paying providers at Medicare rates. The 2010 version of the public option was expected to reduce the debt by $68 billion over 10 years.

I have long believed that President Obama's long term plan for the Affordable Care Act is to introduce the public option, and that belief was only reinforced with news that soon their would be at least two nationwide health insurance plans to be operated under contract with the federal government and offered to consumers in every state.

I think that this bill, and others like it, are simply a way to keep the idea in the minds of the American people so that when there is a public option made available they will be more than ready to sign on.

I know I will.

Are we finally moving toward a single payer health care system? Maybe.

President Obama has already voted, have you?

Courtesy of The New York Times:

The Obama administration will soon take on a new role as the sponsor of at least two nationwide health insurance plans to be operated under contract with the federal government and offered to consumers in every state. 

These multistate plans were included in President Obama’s health care law as a substitute for a pure government-run health insurance program — the public option sought by many liberal Democrats and reviled by Republicans. Supporters of the national plans say they will increase competition in state health insurance markets, many of which are dominated by a handful of companies. 

The national plans will compete directly with other private insurers and may have some significant advantages, including a federal seal of approval. Premiums and benefits for the multistate insurance plans will be negotiated by the United States Office of Personnel Management, the agency that arranges health benefits for federal employees. 

Walton J. Francis, the author of a consumer guide to health plans for federal employees, said the personnel agency had been “extraordinarily successful” in managing that program, which has more than 200 health plans, including about 20 offered nationwide. The personnel agency has earned high marks for its ability to secure good terms for federal workers through negotiation rather than heavy-handed regulation of insurers. 

John J. O’Brien, the director of health care and insurance at the agency, said the new plans would be offered to individuals and small employers through the insurance exchanges being set up in every state under the 2010 health care law. 

No one knows how many people will sign up for the government-sponsored plans. In preparing cost estimates, the Obama administration told insurers to assume that each national plan would have 750,000 people enrolled in the first year.

When the Affordable Care Act was passed WITHOUT the public option, I know a lot of people were really upset. Myself included.

But then I read somewhere, and I wish I could remember where, that this was just the first step of Obama's ultimate plan, and that once the bill had passed it would be tweaked, and tweaked until the programs offered had finally forced most of the health care insurers out of business, and then we would, for all intents and purposes, move to the single payer health care system that the progressives had long been hoping for.

I think that this could be the beginning of that tweaking process.

Now please keep in mind that Mitt Romney has promised that on "day one" he is going to repeal Obamacare. And if that happens, we can all kiss goodbye ANY hope of seeing our broken health care system repaired once and for all

Mitt Romney, like all Republican politicians, works for the health insurance conglomerates, and they will do ANYTHING to save their livelihoods.

Like the legend of the Phoenix, the Public Option rises from the ashes.

By Thursday morning there were 13 official signatories to the letter calling for a reconciliation vote on the public option, and two additional Democrats that have expressed support for the idea.

The new signatories are Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Jack Reed (D-RI). Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) have also indicated their support.

Feinstein became the 11th senator to officially sign the letter on Wednesday night. In explaining her decision, Feinstein pointed to the insurer Blue Cross's projected 39 percent rate hike for Californians.

"I can think of no better example of why we need health insurance reform," she said, according to the Huffington Post. "And this kind of behavior is a stark reminder of why any reform plan should establish a rate authority to keep insurance rates affordable."

This is what the American people have been demanding. Without the Public Option we will never get real health care reform.

I have to admit I had just about given up hope that this would ever have a chance to make it into a health care reform bill, but now I have a little renewed hope that the Democrats will not let this historic opportunity pass them by.

I think it is time for EVERY American with a Democrat in the Senate to e-mail them and let them know how important the Public Option is to you and to our country. Believe me they are already hearing from the opposition. When I visited Mark Begich's office I was told that MOST of the e-mails they get are from Republicans telling them not to support the President or any of his policies. So our Senators need to hear from as many pro-health care reform supporters as possible.

Speaking of Senator Begich, here is his contact information. I was told he loves to hear from us so make sure to let him know exactly how you feel. And for those of you not living in Alaska, here is a place to find contact information for your senator. Don't be shy, remember this is for our future, and our children's future.

MoveOn.Org ad about Public Option with actress Heather Graham is a winner.

I just have to say that if the Public Option looked like Heather Graham the old Republican farts would knock each other down to be associated with it.

Of course those of us on THIS side of the ideological fence already know it is that attractive. As do the majority of Americans.