CNN: White House Negotiating With Snowe Over A ‘Trigger Public Option’

Source: Think Progress

CNN: White House Negotiating With Snowe Over A ‘Trigger Public Option’

CNN’s Ed Henry and Dana Bash are reporting that the White House is negotiating with Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) — a member of the so-called Gang-of-six tasked with producing a bipartisan health care bill in the Senate Finance Committee — to pass a “scaled-back bill that would focus on insurance reforms that both sides could agree to, but would not have a full public option, instead, would have a so-called trigger.” The negotiations come in advance of the Presidsent’s September 9th address to a joint session of Congress, in which Obama is expected to lay out a specific vision for health care reform:

What we’re hearing that she’s talking about with White House staff is sort of a scaled-back bill that would focus on insurance reforms that both sides could agree to, but would not have a full public option, instead, would have a so-called trigger. What that means in layman’s terms is basically that the insurance companies would have a couple of years to make some dramatic changes. If they do not make those changes, then a public option would be triggered.

Read more: http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/09/02/snowe-trigger-wh/

like GM had to do ... but I ain't holding my breath ...

bullshit?

We'll see!

And then I thought, why would a dead horse get a public option?

No strong public option, no deal.

This is just "wiggle room" for the insurance companies to drag their feet in hopes another president* would be in the White House when the "trigger" kicks in...

________
*Preferably a GOPer who will ignore any health-care reform whatsoever...

... that brought us this accurate report earlier today: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8622066


Just wonderin' ... :shrug:

Sorry, just showing my age...

while apparently pretending that the Americans who voted for him don't exist.

I'm so sick of hearing what's going to be done to "keep the insurance companies honest" and "hold them accountable". Everyone admits they're crooks and can't be trusted but Obama and Congress are doing everything in they can to protect them - and convince us they're doing us a favor.

Face it, we've been had. The only "reform" we're going to get is that we'll be required to buy the shoddy products these assholes offer - and are our access to health care is only going to get worse.

Sure, Congress can write and pass laws that will penalize insurance companies a million dollars -- against their MULTI-million dollar profits. And the companies will just shake it off, smile, and raise their rates to cover the new expense.

The time for talking nice to the insurance companies -- like the time for talking nice to rebubbalickins -- is over. That ship done sailed. Now it's time for the 2x4.

I still think a phased-in approach for opening up Medicare to all -- lower the eligibility age by 5 years or so immediately, by another 5 years the next year, and so on and so on -- might be the way to go. The Medicare infrastructure is already there. The insurance companies wouldn't be hit all at once, and have time for some retooling to sell toenail fungus policies.

But these aren't nice guys just waiting for some direction. They're evil, greedy bastards who'll twist any weak "reform" seven ways from Sunday until it finally dawns on people that there wasn't really any "reform" at all.

the strength to pull the darn trigger.

American People will be left hi and dri, paying more than
they do now and not getting as much as they do now.

The Democrats are scared someone may lose a seat.
Just wait until this Republican Bill and that is what it is.*(not hyperbole)passes. Things go wrong. All Democrats will
be in Jeopardy when the people begin to think they have
been screwed. Pitchforks at the gate.

I can use it or not depending on the negotiations of our fate.

have to support only watch dogs like the ACLU and Amnnesty International and write in a candidate. Those things send a much clearer message and get more done than doing nothing at all.

freakin' Senators and Obama. And it all comes down to freakin' Olympia Snowe? When did the nation vote to put her in charge?

I'm so over these people. Both sides. But especially the Purple Vultures.