Grijalva Requests Changes To Health Care Bill, Vote On Robust Public Option

For those not versed in Congressspeak, McCarran Ferguson is the law that exempted health insurers from federal regulation and antitrust jurisdiction.

I Googled it so you don't have to.

•Americans in every state in the nation must be able to take advantage of the benefits of the bill

... but not ALL Americans in every state, right Raul?

"Americans in every state in the nation must be able to take advantage of the benefits of the bill; thus the bill shall explicitly state that the public option must be available without any triggers or opt-out provisions."

This man is my hero. The Senate opt-out compromise is not the public option, but actually the Blue State Public Option that leaves millions of poor and disenfranchised behind, despite the contributions of blue state progressives to Democratic victories in 2006 and 2008. It's a cruel compromise, and I'm glad that at least one legislator realizes it.

This health care bill will be Obama's Waterloo. The process has been a prolonged, way-too-long PR nightmare, the result will probably be a complicated, do-nothing bill that just adds another 3/4 hour of paperwork to the beleaguered physician's day, and increases the flow of cash to privare health insurers rather than driving them out of business, which is where they belong.

Obama, and probably all of us, would have ben better off if he'd gone to bat for something simple--expanding Medicare to all adults, paid for by a surtax on income over 300,000--then forcing people to line up for or against. If it lost, he'd have political ammo, if he won, we'd have a change we could believe in. As it is, we're going to get a reform more complex and less effective than his so-called mortgage relief, which has been an ineffective loser from day one. Obama is on a fast track to being Jimmy Carter II--a one-term nice guy who didn't have the balls to do what it takes to help the average citizen.

for the Grijalva fans

a well written and prophetic piece from Howie Klein:

http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2009/09/wholl-be-left-standing-in-battle-for.html