As a person with two chronically ill children, let me tell you what a Strong Public Option means

[berni_mccoy]

A strong public option means not having to worry about pre-existing conditions anymore
A strong public option means no more lifetime caps on what the Insurance company pays
A strong public option means subsidies to the poor who cannot afford health care
A strong public option means a cap on premiums, not care
A strong public option means a minimum standard of benefits and what they cover, not what they don't cover
A strong public option means putting controls on premium costs and increases and limits to cost sharing
A strong public option means my children won't have to worry about how to pay for their medicine if I lose my job
A strong public option means no longer living in fear if we miss a premium payment or have a lapse of coverage
A strong public option means my children can't be denied coverage when they leave home


A strong public option was indeed passed with HR 3692. I know many here don't think so, but for the millions of Americans like me and my family, it's a Godsend.

[Bonobo]

1. But your kids should suffer until we get EXACTLY what we demand!

Even if we lose and your poor children have to be sacrificed on the idol of idealism and self-serving self-promotion.

We must destroy the other side and save the future! Blah blah.

[pnwmom]

2. Well said. K & R.

[Flying Dream Blues]

3. K&R nt

[Bobbie Jo]

4. K&R....but the " I hope he fails" crowd will check in shortly.

:kick:

[berni_mccoy]

26. Sadly, as you predicted... and they have the unrec brigade with them.

[jgraz]

5. So you're one of the 2% eligible for this "strong" public option?

If so, congratulations. You win today's corporate lottery.

[berni_mccoy]

8. I wish people weren't so blind-sided. 36 million Americans will benefit from the PO

even if they don't go on the PO.

[jgraz]

17. No, they really won't

None of the benefits of a real public option are contained in this bill. We *will* get the reforms you mentioned, but those have nothing to do with the Public Option. And without a Public Option, you have no guarantee that your premiums won't go through the roof.

[Donnachaidh]

40. and the 11 Million on top of that 36 million -- they should what?

STFU and go to the back of the bus?

There are *47* million uninsured. But hey -- YOUR family is covered, so F*CK everyone else! A true American ideal.... :sarcasm:

[ecstatic]

9. went right over your head

The list he mentioned covers the reforms to insurance in general, regardless of whether one is on the public option or not.

[jgraz]

14. Then why call it the "Strong Public Option"

None of what he mentions is part of the public option. It would have been in any health bill the House passed. Calling it the "Strong Public Option" seems intentionally deceptive.

[berni_mccoy]

23. Without these reforms, there is no Public Option.

[Luminous Animal]

24. Not true.

There is nothing stopping the government from offering insurance that includes those regulations but leaving the private industry alone.

[berni_mccoy]

43. You win. Fuck the sick. Let them die until we have Single Payer.

[jgraz]

48. Yes, that's exactly the most hysterical response you could possibly have

:eyes:

[jgraz]

25. You have it exactly backwards

We could have had a strong public option without ANY of those reforms. Just allow anyone to buy into low-cost, public health insurance and the private insurance companies would have had to either reform themselves or go out of business (likely the latter).

With this mess, there is NO incentive for insurance companies to clean up their acts at all. They can skirt the regs, jack up rates and screw us to the wall -- because they know that we STILL have no other alternative.

[redqueen]

6. Well said.

I loathe corporate welfare, but I love healthcare for citizens more.

[Luminous Animal]

7. Those are regulations.

So no. No strong public option was passed with HR 3692. You could have made a post supporting regulation without lying to your readers.

[VMI Dem]

10. Not dramatic or tear-jerky enough.

[Bobbie Jo]

13. WTF?

[optimator]

11. i think you might be confused about what a public option is

your list is about the changes to private insurance, not a strong public insurance option which does not exist in this bill.

[ecstatic]

15. Why are people so caught up with labels?

The reforms are important regardless of what it's called.

[frazzled]

18. And the reforms are IN both bills--the PO has nothing to do with these things

The real problem is that people are poorly informed.
You're for or against something when you don't even know what it is.

The OP is extremely misleading. Everything he/she desires in the list in in the House and Senate bills, even without a public option.

[berni_mccoy]

21. The Public Option would mean NOTHING without these reforms.

[jgraz]

19. You're right. Iraq/Al Qaeda, Activist/Terrorist, War/Peace. Who cares about labels?

Manipulating language is what the last regime did. We can do a bit better, don't you think?

[Luminous Animal]

20. Because if we are going to have a discussion about something

or advocate for something, we need to have a common definition of what that something is.

[AllentownJake]

31. A public option is an actual policy

which creates a government insurance program to compete with the private sector it isn't a label.

I guess under your logic I could call the Patriot Act a Public Option.

[Hepburn]

28. Welcome to the DU and thank you for supplying some facts instead of some of the usual...

...bullshit that is posted here.

:hi:

[berni_mccoy]

29. The Public Option would be nothing without these reforms.

[Luminous Animal]

33. The public option IS nothing with these reforms.

Quit trying to redefine "public option" Big Brother.

[frazzled]

12. Actually, a public option has little to do with the important measures you list

Whether or not there is a public option (strong or weak), both the House and Senate bills contain:

A prohibition on denial for pre-existing conditions
Removal of annual and lifetime caps
Subsidies to poor (and middle class) to buy insurance
Minimum standard of benefits on the exchange
etc.

The public option would just add an extra choice to the exchange, an insurance plan offered by the government, that might cost about 20% less than a commercial policy. It's main purpose is to show how low premiums could be, thus putting downward pressure on the cost of commercial policies.

Please don't confuse the health care bills with the public option.

[FLyellowdog]

30. TY for your clarity.

All this rhetoric is giving me a headache. :hi:

[berni_mccoy]

32. Those reforms have everything to do with the PO. The PO wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the reform.

They go hand-in-hand.

[AllentownJake]

34. Not really

You could have a public option without those reforms, however it would probably result in adverse selection for the public option.

Since there is no public option you do have the reforms.

But there is no strong public option in the House bill. There is a terribly weak one but not a strong one.

[berni_mccoy]

35. Wow, you just contradicted yourself in one sentence.

[AllentownJake]

36. oops I guess I did

but back to the point, what you are talking about is regulation and not a public option and the public option in the House Bill is as weak as it can possibly be with still being able to meet the minimum definition of what a public option is.

You can be happy about the reforms, please don't say the reforms are something they aren't.

[berni_mccoy]

37. Nah, you're right. Fuck Healthcare reform. Stay with the Status Quo.

I give up.

[AllentownJake]

38. You put words in my mouth

I was pointing out that there was no strong public option which was the point of your OP.

[berni_mccoy]

41. Nah, you've consistently argued against HR 3692 even though it will help millions. So fuck it.

You win. Thousands will continue to die.

[AllentownJake]

44. Last time I checked the House Bill passed

Excuse me for saying that a piece of legislation is severly lacking and in my opinion a bad bill.

I agree with a few provisions in the patriot act, doesn't mean I support the bill in its entirety.

[berni_mccoy]

45. Yep, fuck the sick. That's you.

[AllentownJake]

47. Thank you for proving the point of my OP an hour ago

[Luminous Animal]

39. Obama doesn't even call it health care reform.

He calls it health insurance reform.

And if you are going to label something that it is decidedly not, then people are going to call you on it. You could have lauded the regulations without the misinformation.

[berni_mccoy]

42. No one is talking about Obama. If you want to give the big ol' FU to the sick, go ahead.

[bigtree]

16. even the folks who voted for it don't believe there's a 'strong public option' in the bill

Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., (co-chair of the Progressive Caucus who signed a pledge to hold out his vote until there was a 'robust public option, but voted for the bill anyway) said he was unhappy the proposed government-run "public" health insurance option in the bill was watered down.

His preferred plan would have paid most health care providers the same rates as Medicare and would have required them to accept all public-plan patients if they also treated Medicare beneficiaries. Under the compromise bill, doctors and hospitals will be able to negotiate their rates and will not be forced to accept public-plan patients.

"I am disappointed that this bill does not include the robust public option I and so many others fought for," Grijalva said. "However, voting yes will move the issue forward."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/11/07/20091107azdeleghealth-ON.html

[stray cat]

22. It sounds like the current bill is better than nothing for you and the kids

[AllentownJake]

27. No it wasn't

What was passed was some regulation, that may alleviate your issues, but at the end of the day, the same insurance lobby that killed the public option will be in charge of your care and I pray that I'm wrong that the political power they have flexed with this bill will not result in you being forced to continue your fight with the bad guys despite the regulatory reform at a high premium.

[liberal_at_heart]

46. look at what the credit card companies are doing

They are hiking rates before the legislation goes into affect. Do you really think that the insurance companies won't find ways to get more money out of you? I know with my husband's insurance it isn't so much the premiums we have a hard time paying, it's the fact that the insurance companies only pay a small fraction of the doctor bill and then we are responsible for the bulk of it. Plus we have to hit a certain deductible before they will cover anything. Until we hit our deductible every cent comes out of our pocket and it usually takes about 2/3 of the year to hit that deductible before they will start paying for anything. The insurance companies will find a way to make their money. I do hope that many are covered under this plan. I just hope they can afford the bills when they come due.

[berni_mccoy]

49. There are protections against this kind of abuse in HR 3692.