OK, folks, the news is in. The U.S. General Accounting Office has done a study of the so-called insurance cooperatives that are being touted as the compromise instead of the government sponsored public plan.
And the answer is that cooperatives will not save money. So, of course, that's what we're going to wind up with. A single-payer plan would save the most money, but we can't have that because it's more important to protect the business of health care than to provide health care.
The next best option would be the public plan. It would save some money, but not as much.
And now we're told that the cooperatives won't save any at all.
So that's what we'll get. And then Republicans will say the plan is a failure because it doesn't save money.
Only in America.
Ralph
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I'm sick about it.
ReplyDeleteJoy
All hope is not quite lost. Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Russ Feingold and Speaker Nancy Pelosi all say that a public option is essential. Pelosli says any House bill that is passed WILL contain the public option. They will lose hundreds of Dem. votes if it doesn't.
ReplyDeleteI think it's now up to the progressives to say they won't vote for it without it. Let the vote counters compare how many Dem votes they lose without it vs how many they lose with it. Forget the Repubs. They're solidly against it.
It's also possible that it could emerge from the conference committee with it in there, even if the Senate bill drops it.
But I don't have much hope -- because in politics, money talks and the big guys have the money.
I do think Obama has been too willing -- and has signalled it from the beginning -- he's too willing to compromise. He has a tendency to start negotiating by stating what he's willing to give up. He should have spent some time as a car salesman to learn how to drive a hard bargain.
Thanks, for your encouragement. I had to turn the tv off on channels that I enjoy because of what sounded like the hopelessness of the healthcare bill we need not coming to fruition.
ReplyDeleteJoy