Rockefeller to Baucus, Conrad: Co-ops Are a Sham, Public Option Is a Must

Source: Talking Points Memo

Rockefeller to Baucus, Conrad: Co-ops Are a Sham, Public Option Is a Must
Brian Beutler | September 16, 2009, 3:31PM


When it became clear several weeks ago that negotiators on the Senate Finance Committee were planning to pursue a private co-op model instead of a public option in their health reform bill, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)--a senior member of that committee, and chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee--undertook a study into the history and effectiveness of health insurance co-operatives.

As part of that study, he asked the Government Accountability Office to bring together all of the research it had done over the years into the effectiveness of co-ops in the insurance market. Today, he sent a fairly scathing letter http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2009/09/rockefeller-to-baucus-conrad-co-ops-are-a-sham.php?page=1 to Finance chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and chief co-op advocate Kent Conrad (D-ND) regarding the results.

Rockefeller, who says he regards the public option as a "must," writes, "there has been no significant research into consumer co-ops as a model for the broad expansion of health insurance. What we do know, however, is that this model was tried in the early part of the 20th century and largely failed."

He adds that "consumer health insurance cooperatives identified by the USDA and NCBA operate and function just like private health insurance companies....This further substantiates my point that health insurance co-ops are not a real alternative to private health insurance and they are not a substitute for a strong public plan option, and we should not suggest to the American people that they would be."

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/rockefeller-to-baucus-conrad-co-ops-are-a-sham-public-option-is-a-must.php?ref=fpblg

Yeah, co-ops. That's the ticket. (not.)

Health and he was not in on the negotiations. That is unbelievable! Baucus did NOT want him there. Rockefeller is for the public option.

glad they are catching on. And no that's not Sham wow.

of the committee from working on the bill. Nice.

And the fact that no Republicans are supporting it means his version won't be the one that passes.