Question: if Obamacare was doing well, would so many liberals be calling for a public option?
(CNS News) “How concerned are you that ObamaCare could implode?” Chuck Todd, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” asked former Obama campaign manager and senior adviser David Plouffe on Sunday.
Plouffe said while “almost all” of Obamacare is working, he believes it’s time to consider a “public option” — a government-run health care plan.
“So I think what will happen after this election, though, is obviously you’ll have the space to say OK, what is working well? And I think almost all of it is. What needs to be strengthened? I think you’ll see a lot of Republican governors now finally accept Medicaid funding.”
If Ocare was working so well only the fringe would be calling for a public option, for morphing Ocare into single payer. If it was working so well they’d be screaming about its successes from the belfry.
Do you know who else wants a public option (well, for Everyone Else, because, like in many countries, the elites find ways around it to get quality care without waiting in long lines)?
“So you know, I think — but at the end of the day, the president spoke of that. And he thinks that’s part of the solution going forward.”
Obama does
Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association last month, President Obama discussed “next steps” for the Affordable Care Act.
“Some parts of the country have struggled with limited insurance market competition for many years, which is one reason that, in the original debate over health reform, Congress considered and I supported including a Medicare-like public plan. Public programs like Medicare often deliver care more cost-effectively by curtailing administrative overhead and securing better prices from providers.
Doctors and medical practices are dropping out of the system or refusing to accept new patients, due to massive problems in getting reimbursed, and those reimbursals often being break even or losing money. As far as administrative overhead, Ocare added tons of that.
“The public plan did not make it into the final legislation. Now, based on experience with the ACA, I think Congress should revisit a public plan to compete alongside private insurers in areas of the country where competition is limited. Adding a public plan in such areas would strengthen the Marketplace approach, giving consumers more affordable options while also creating savings for the federal government.”
So, now that Ocare is floundering, now that insurance providers are fleeing the system, now that co-ops are crashing, now that doctors are saying “nope, get it away”, now that premiums are spiking, etc and so on, Obama wants a public option. The next step would be to fully implement single payer, a full government run system. Except for those elites like Plouffe and Obama. Of course, it would be tougher, since so many elites from countries with single payer come to the U.S. for that quality care.
Read: Surprise: Former Senior Obama Advisor Calls For Public Option »
