Without a public option, Obama’s health plan must die

[natrat]

By: Kirk James Murphy, M.D. Sunday August 16, 2009 11:48 am


This morning the NYT reports President Obama's ready to throw the public option under the insurance companies' limousines.

According to The Associated Press, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is suggesting the White House is ready to accept nonprofit insurance cooperatives instead of a government-run public option in a health overhaul plan.

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Ms. Sebelius says Mr. Obama still believes there should be choice and competition” in the health insurance market — but that a public option is “not the essential element.”

Without the public option, consumers will be left with a choice between purchasing insurance from the for-profits...or purchasing insurance from Kent Conrad's imaginary friend, the co-ops....which are intended from the start to be unable to compete effectively against the for-profits we've all come to know and despise.

Of course, under Obama's health plan we'll all be under a Federal mandate to purchase insurance. Which means that, after the co-ops complete their auto-destruct sequences a few years out, we'll all be chained to a lifetime of Federally enforced obligation to buy insurance from the same megacorps that make billions by denying us health care.

This outcome - a massive mandatory transfer of wealth from Americans to a few monopoly megacorps - is just what the doctor ordered....if the Dr's Jack Kervorkian.

Or if the doctor is Robert Rubin: the fellow who used his revolving door detour away from looting and pillaging heading up the honorable banksters at Goldman Sachs and into Clinton's cabinet as Treasury Secretary only to lead the successful war to destroy the Glass-Steagall barrier between retail banks regular people need and the investment banks that brought down our economy.

That Robert Rubin - he sure gets around. Why, just a few years ago he took time out from his busy bankster's schedule (after leaving Treasury, he jumped over to head up Citicorp, one of the greatest winners from destroying Glass-Steagall) of looting and pillaging the useful portion of our economy to co-found the Hamilton Project. What's the Hamilton Project? The Project's the wholly owned creature of the "FI" sectors: the finance megacorps...and the insurance megacorps.

That Hamilton Project sure gets around, too. Why, the Project's co-founder and very first executive director, Peter Orszag, got right into the White House - as Obama's OMB director and one of his chief economic advisers. Maybe he caught Obama's eye when the very ambitious Senator showed up to bend his knee at the spawning of Rubin and Orszag's love child, the Hamilton Project.

Gee - and who will make billions from a health "reform" plan that compels us all to become customers-for-life of the insurance companies that make their money by denying us care?

Rubin's owners, Orszag's masters, and Obama's patrons: the megacorps behind the Hamilton Project.

This outcome isn't a bug: it's a Rubinite feature. Signed, sealed, delivered - Obama's theirs.

Without a public option, the only people Obama's health plan will care for are the insurance CEO's and the banksters who own pieces of their industry.

That's why, without a public option, Obama's health plan must die. So the rest of us have at least a fighting chance of living.


http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/7264

[aquart]

1. Yes.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. Yes. Yes.

[DJ13]

3. Yes.Yes.Yes.

[subcomhd]

4. no

any Dem. who votes against a bill that prevents denial of coverage due to pre-existing condition is SCREWING the working class to make a point and should have advertising 24/7 run in their districts letting people know they voted - TO ALLOW INSURANCE COMPANIES TO DENY COVERAGE TO SICK PEOPLE.

[aquamarina]

6. Point taken - but legislation that does nothing to address

the the 46 million who have no health insurance or the millions more who have health insurance but can't afford to use it - regardless of a pre-existing condition - is for all intents and purposes WORTHLESS.

[subcomhd]

8. I totally agree but..

I can see Dennis K. voting no on anything that falls short of a full-on Scandinavian cradle-to-grave program (which would be a good thing, but ain't happening here.)

I can also see many here applauding such a 'statement.' at the offense of the workers.


make that 'expense'

[ipaint]

7. The mandate screws the working class with or without a public option.

There is no strong public option anywhere to be found.

The insurance corp's regulate the government not the other way around.

[DebbieCDC]

5. Agree absolutely

[bvar22]

9. 100%...

..and I will do everything within my power to help kill it.

[OHdem10]

10. Yes, yes yes

[notesdev]

11. Obama didn't actually propose a health plan

The only plans proposed so far are from the House and Senate.

Maybe if he had proposed his own plan, a lot of this could have been avoided.

I can see Rahm Emmanuel whispering in his ear not to propose his own plan so as to be able to shift with the political winds and let others hold the bag if it went sour.

[IndianaGreen]

12. He made the same mistake the Clintons made, he didn't introduce his own bill

LBJ fought for his Medicare bill.

[nashville_brook]

13. agreed. no compulsory insurance!