Obama: I’m “Pleased” That House Health Care Bill Has Public Option
Obama’s statement on the passage of the House health care bill explicitly singles out the public option as one of the bill’s primary achievements:
The House legislation includes critical reforms to the insurance industry, so that Americans will no longer have to worry that they will be denied coverage, or that their coverage will be dropped or watered down when they need it most. I’m also pleased that the bill includes a public option offered in an exchange. As I’ve said throughout this process, a public option that competes with private insurers is the best way to ensure choice and competition that are so badly needed in today’s market. And the House bill clearly meets two of the fundamental criteria I have set out: it is fully paid for and will reduce the deficit in the long term.
Nancy Pelosi has delivered a House bill with a real, live public plan in it, albeit not the one preferred by progressives. Harry Reid has announced his intention to put one in the Senate bill. Now the question becomes whether Obama will step in and get it across the finish line.
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Kewl.
Is that a slight diss against harry reed ?
Greg
Any chance a strong PO could come out of conference committee? Any update on HCR legislation timeline? I know a story ran yesterday about a delay in scoring the Senate version, which could delay their vote a couple of weeks. Can this really get done by 12/31/09?
conrad pushing co-ops at, where else, faux news.
“conrad pushing co-ops at, where else, faux news.”
Aaaaaaaaarrrrrghghghghghgh!
It never endsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
yeah, saw the Conrad stuff. and Andy, lemme see if I can figure that out.
Tena, Wait, there is more. When asked if HCR will be done this year, he sez “it could could get resolved this year, but it’s very, very difficult to do.”
Now you can flip out.
He has no choice now; which is why Schumer was pushing to have the public option put in the senate bill and not subject to amendment. The President has to get this over the finish line if he wants to get this done now and he’ll put his political team to work finding the way. Similarly, he has to do a robust public option if they go the reconciliation route which would IMO turn into Medicare E: everyone buying into Medicare on an exchange with certain rules.
“Now you can flip out. ”
Just gently point me toward Bedlam.
I wanna be sedated.
This statement strikes me as being meant to give some indirect support to Harry Reid, to help hold his resolve about keeping a public option in the Senate bill.
I don’t think Pres. Obama will become more directly involved in the process until both bills are being combined in committee. That’s when he’ll sheperd a final product, then go out and sell it to the American people.
But this statement, and the timing of it, really seems like a shot in the arm to Sen. Reid, letting him know that he’ll have his back.
I don’t know if anyone is interested or not but here’s a pdf of the House Bill. It’ almost 2000 pages, but it doesn’t look like too heavy of a read. I’m going to give it a go.
http://docs.house.gov/rules/health/111_ahcaa.pdf
BBQ – That’s what I said. Obama to reed – “grow some balls”.
Hilarious.
“Flash mob” Tea Party protest of House HCR bill gets 10, TEN!, people.
“If this is organized, we suck.”
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/the-mob-that-wasnt-greets-arrival-of-pelosi-bill.php?ref=fpblg
Isn’t this a shot at Lieberman as well who is demanding that the public option be stripped?
NYT
“Members of the House Democratic leadership team offered these details of their bill, to be unveiled on Thursday. It would provide coverage to 35 million or 36 million people. The 10-year cost of expanding coverage would be less than the $900 billion ceiling suggested by President Obama. The cost would be offset by new taxes and by cutbacks in Medicare, so the bill would not increase the federal budget deficit in the next 10 years or in the decade after that.
…
Ms. Pelosi can describe the proposal as a “millionaires’ tax.” The original thresholds were $280,000 for individuals and $350,000 for couples.
The government insurance plan would negotiate rates with doctors and hospitals, as private insurers do. Payments would not be based on Medicare rates, as Ms. Pelosi had wanted. Democrats from rural areas balked at the use of Medicare rates, saying they were so low that hospitals could not survive on them.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/health/policy/29health.html?_r=2&ref=politics
It is not a shot at Reid. The White House praised Senator Reid for his efforts, when he announced his version of the PO bill, just as he now Praised the House Version.
We are at a critical juncture in the proceedings, so those who want to see a strong finished product passed, need to start acting like grown ups, and stop reading tea leaves in the hopes of finding some hidden divisive messages in what The President said.
Ethan – Another hilarious take on those ten tea-baggers.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/10/29/798467/-BREAKING:-1.2-Million-Protest-House-Health-Bill!!
amk – Jeez – in the picture at Kos, it looks like those 10 tea-baggers are all on Medicare.
From Ethan’s TPM link
“When asked if she was part of the “flash mob,” she laughed. “I’m here on my own,” she said, looking around at the scattered protesters around her. “If this is organized, we suck.”
Lisa Miller, another protestor, said she was an organizer with a D.C. tea party group. She insisted that the event wasn’t organized by a national organization, despite yesterday’s email which was signed by a group calling itself “Your Tea Party Patriots National Coordinator Team.”
“People keep reporting we’re a single group,” she said. “But we’re not — we’re all separate.”
“It’s like we’re in different cars but we’re all going in the same direction,” Abbott explained”
Precious.
Or off their Meds!
Yup Tena. The rethugs never do irony.
Here’s a few more quotes from this morning.
“The fact of the matter is, if I would have said to you two months ago we would have a bill with the public option, most of you would have said, ‘nah, that’s not gonna happen,’” said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) “now it’s a virtual consensus that it’s going to.”
In order to accommodate progressives, who have been demanding that the bill’s public option be maximally robust, House health care leaders strengthened other aspects of it, including a Medicaid expansion, and a mandate that insurance companies spend at least 85 percent of their premium dollars on paying for care–a regulation that will take effect immediately if it survives in conference with the Senate.
Though official CBO numbers aren’t in yet, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) told me that the bill “continues to reduce the deficit” 11-20 years out.”
Re those 10 or so Teabaggers; the TPM article said that they were part of a larger group who were protesting other things, such as Abortions. Did the teabag email organizers intentionally send out those invitations, because they knew there were other protest going to be held, and they could claim that all those people were there for their protest rally.
Also, what were the Democrats, with U2 music playing, gathering for, re the following excerpt from TPM?
“Those details out of the way, the pair turned back to the crown gathering on the marble steps about 50 yards away. Capitol Police kept the protesters too far from the event to see it, but the strains of a U2 song played as background music for the gathering Democrats drifted across the plaza to within earshot.
“Look at their king-like behavior,” Miller scoffed. “They’re re-introducing the same sham they’ve been pushing for years. It’s evident people in this building don’t care about us.”"
From a poster at TPM
“It also demonstrates the critical role that FOX played in earlier tea bagger protests. FOX is exposed as the political operator behind those earlier protests if this is what happens to the same crowd without FOX instigation, coordination and participation. The tea baggers are political operatives for FOX. Without FOX there is no group there.”
Busted.
@Kris
“Isn’t this a shot at Lieberman as well who is demanding that the public option be stripped?”
Maybe a bit…but it seems more aimed at encouraging Sen. Reid against backing down to the likes of Lieberman. I don’t think the White House believes Lieberman will go through with his threat.
mcjoan @ dkos
“Among the most important of these front-loaded provision are the creation of the high risk pool, extension of COBRA benefits (which should also include some sort of subsidy program, since COBRA rates are often unaffordable, though select groups do receive assistance under the Recovery Act), upping the age that people can be covered by their parents’ plans, and the increased funding for Community Health Centers are all very good starts for 2010. The most key for staunching the bleeding in our system, if you will, are the high risk pool and the Community Health Center funding. More of the uninsured will be able to get insurance through the pool and the CHCs, which are absolutely critical to providing care for the uninsured, will at least see some increased ability to do so.
A handful of the reforms will immediately address issues for Medicare beneficiaries, all solid reforms that should also provide some political help in 2010–seniors vote.”.
Slowly but surely the wheels turn.
As I have said before:
As a life long tea drinker, one thing I know for certain; you can not get anything worth swallowing from a previously used teabag.
“Isn’t this a shot at Lieberman as well who is demanding that the public option be stripped?”
I suppose it could be viewed that way, but I doubt that was the underlying intent. Pelosi indicated last week that the House version of the bill was going to have a public option in it.
Is he pleased that reform, the Exchange, and Public O won’t exist until 2013? Nevemind that the Exchange and Public O are basically limited to the self- and un-employed. Oh brother.
“Now the question becomes whether Obama will step in and get it across the finish line.”
Because, evidently, they have now replaced the filibuster in the Senate with a new law indicating that the president, if he begs long enough, can bypass the need for sixty votes.
At first I though 65 referred to Bob’s age. Now he has made it evident that it refers to his IQ.
He thinks that people are going to fall for the asinine strawman that he just set up, and then set fire too.
BOOB65 IQ. Is what he really is.
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