| Yes this is because the wonderful folks we fought so hard to get elected made positive that they would totally castrate any public option we had. However, they made sure the mandate upon us would be pretty damn strong.
For all the banter and big talk we have surrendered to those who care nothing about Progress in this country. It turns out very few people will benefit from this public option, and millions more could also see it denied as an option for them:
Of the 45 million uninsured Americans that congressional Democrats and President Barack Obama want to help over the next decade, only 6 million, or 13 percent, would obtain coverage by enrolling in a public option, the Congressional Budget Office concluded in an analysis of the Democratic bill pending before the House of Representatives.
That number could shrink because states may decide to opt out of a public insurance plan, an escape clause that's likely to be included in the Senate plan.
http://www.kentucky.com/963/st...
Worse yet, even still those who are allowed to enroll in a public option will not see lower prices or real competition:
No matter what the states do, the government-run plan is not likely to attract a large membership, at least according to CBO. It reasoned that the plan may not be able to offer a price advantage -- in part because the House bill would require a government-backed insurer to negotiate payment rates rather than dictate them to hospitals and doctors.
And for all the bluster of "moderates" and "Blue Dogs" about demanding relief for rural districts they could actually be the very ones that miss out the most:
Congressional Democrats say that a government plan would spark competition with private insurers in the exchanges, or marketplaces, where under the legislation millions of Americans who don't have employer-provided coverage would shop for policies. Advocates say that could especially help consumers in states, often smaller, more rural ones, where only one or two insurers dominate the market, and are typically lightly regulated.
This is because now the lobbyists will move to the state level to spread their poison and many states have Conservative Governors who will not want to upset the already maniacal "tea-baggers":
"If insurance companies don't want any public plans to compete with them, they will be pressing the governors and the legislatures to opt out," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and one of the architects of the House Democratic bill. That legislation doesn't include an opt-out provision.
Honestly, as an uninsured American with a pre-existing condition, Type 1 Diabetes this legislation scares the hell out of me. I am scared that now I am going to be mandated to buy insurance I still cannot afford and their is not public option for me to fall back on that will be cheaper and not completely castrated. I am even more scared as I realize that most Progressives in Congress are signing onto this garbage, and our President has vowed to sign it.
Only in America can a policiy that was supposed to help millions of the working poor who needed help getting into our expensive healthcare system in the end not benefit them whatsoever, but benefit the very insurance companies and greedy politicians who take money from them.
One thing is clear to me now. Even if healthcare reform is passed and enacted we have lost this battle. I oppose the healthcare reform and public option as presented so far by this Congress and hope my fellow Progressives and Americans will join me in doing so.
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