The best way for the government to respond to Blue Cross 39% insurance premium hike is to...

pass single payer health (Medicare for All) and if they don't have the guts to do that then at least pass a Public Option.

No other way are these thieves going to get the message.

chair. He is never to be found.

would they automatically get a seat at the table in closed-door sessions with the Dem leadership before the House and Senate bills were released?

The DNC will do nothing except write "concerned" letters. It all reminds me of the old British comedy Yes, Prime Minister, in which a mythical Middle Eastern country is holding a British subject prisoner, and the Prime Minister's chief aide advises him that he'd better have his letter of protest approved by that country's embassy before he releases it.

I think Kucinich's amendment allowing the states to experiment with single-payer will provide the opening for solving this issue.

California has already passed a single-payer law only to have Arnold veto it. Maybe this price increase will put the heat on enough legislators to bring about a veto-proof majority.

Here in Minnesota, one of our gubernatorial candidates is a staunch advocate of single payer, and the two frontrunners for the Dem nomination both say that they'll sign any single payer bill that is presented to them.

on tv.

Our side had and has zip.

And it isn't just the DNC.

What about Kos, Huffington, Hamsher?

Maybe if they'd all pooled resources and gotten together to raise money to create an ad that ran non-stop...

this "play it safe" crap has got to end!

that insurers who tried to hike premiums prior to the Exchanges becoming activated would be banned from the exchanges. I believe there is a provision for an official investigative panel to deal with this issue in one or both of the bills (Senate and House). Of course, HCR didn't farking PASS yet, so I wonder if there is really any legal remedy to be applied here. Had we passed HCR before the end of the year, as planned, there would have been a huge deterrent to Blue Cross from doing this.

Some other company that doesn't raise their rates can take advantage of Blue Cross customer dissatisfaction and solicit Blue Cross customers to switch, and then see how long Blue Cross stays in buisness with no customers.

causes the same anxiety about mandates and a government plot to monopolize delivery of care.

If we simply reduce the age of Medicare eligibility to zero and charge affordable premiums for the coverage already offered under Medicare, every other reform will happen naturally.

It could be done in a 1 or 2 page bill.

The model of simplicity. And the only debate then becomes can we afford it.

big 10-4 i totally agree.

SINGLE PAYER!!!