Not the change I was looking for with Obama’s Health Care plan
I was over at a friend’s house last night and they were describing a public Facebook chat with a member of the administration Health Care team that occurred yesterday. What came out of it? Well discussion over a public option and this little gem.
The plan currently being floated is that if a “public option” is part of the comprehensive reform everyone is talking about - you won’t have access to it if you already have insurance.
Got that? If you have no insurance you can opt in to the “public plan.” If you have crappy insurance coverage - well tough luck - try not to get sick for 5 years at which time people with insurance can opt into the public option.
So, either they really misunderstood the call and that isn’t true or the public option now floated has restrictions built in to ensure prolonging of undercovered insurance holders.
My money is on the captured customer and prolonging under-coverage.
At some point the Obama administration has to decide if Health Care is a human right or business activity.
If my friends’ understanding is correct, Team Obama really crossed a bridge. Why? Well, check this out.
Re taxing Health Insurance benefits
But administration officials are working behind the scenes on the idea, including the Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, UPI reports: Sebelius said that “Obama would prefer not to resort to that measure but it is ‘open to discussion.’” Sebelius also said Obama would prefer to cap itemized deductions to help pay for reform to save $330 billion over 10 years for reform (6/28).
Then there is even IF THERE IS A PUBLIC OPTION
Politico: “White House senior adviser David Axelrod says President Barack Obama would like to have a public option – or government-run insurance plan – as part of a health reform package, but will not insist on it. ‘We’ve not gotten as far as we’ve gotten by drawing bright lines in the sand,’ Axelrod said on NBC’s Meet the Press. ‘He’s going to fight hard for that.’” Later on Meet the Press, Republican strategist Mike Murphy called that “a huge concession.” (Allen and Siegel, 6/28).
Scary stuff for people expecting change.
Related posts:
Seriously scary! Bent, but not broken-on to Washington July 30th!
[...] open to “the public” until 2013. First off, this is a limited Public Option because, like I said before, - it is just open to people who don’t have insurance - now. Sort of takes the [...]
[...] open to “the public” until 2013. First off, this is a limited Public Option because, like I said before, - it is just open to people who don’t have insurance - now. Sort of takes the [...]