Tomorrow Could Be A Really Big Day For Health Care--Here's Why

One word: reconciliation.

I don't see how they can do it without reconciliation.

The PO will be stripped out and Olympia's trigger inserted in its place on an amendment vote. That's been the plan since day 1. Reid knew he had to include it, politically (to save his own sorry arse), but also knew it would not survive. That's why Lieberman is the least of his problems. He's part of the solution.

I'm not going to complain as long as it's in the final bill after reconciliation. It better be! Or I'm launching a latte protest!

Here's a possibility, don't know how likely though.
Step 1, the "final" bill that gets through the meat grinder does these things:
1) Prohibits exclusions for pre-existing conditions.
2) Prohibits exclusions for yearly or lifetime expenses.
3) Individual mandates.
4) Subsidies for (some) who can't afford coverage.
5) Some method, probably inadequate, to provide coverage for those who don't get it through their work.
6) Not much else, i.e. no effective public option or cost containment.

Progressives vote for it because they know what step 2 is.
Blue dogs vote for it because it allows them to continue their cognitive dissonance of claiming opposition to a robust public option to "save money and prevent increased debt."

And Lieberman, Snowe or some retiring R votes for it, because it doesn't have a public option.

So, we get universal health care out of step one, that is too expensive and going to get worse.

Then, to address costs and only costs, which is a budget matter, a second bill is introduced next year, with robust public option, medicare for all, Wyden plan, or something else that really, truly undermines the private insurance/PHRMa/fee for services, rather than fee for results status quo gets introduced as step 2. And THAT is of course, exactly what reconciliation is designed for!

Sigh.

The bill doesn't lower the deficit in the near or long term. I though we were concerned about raising the deficit not lowering it.

I am sick sick sick of this crap. Lieberdick and a lot of his buddies have been on the job for years, some for decades and have not done one iota about this and now they try to stop this now because its too expensive/too much/too soxialeesteec/too whatever. Hey, jerks, if y'all had done something about it even a decade ago we would not be in this situation. When do these pigs get their insurance pulled?

One more thought. Any program strong enough to bend the cost curve must be widely available. An opt-out is not the end of the world because it is most likely that few, if any, state politicians who would be willing to immolate their political careers to prevent their voters to have the OPTION of a public plan that could save them money. Rhetoric aside, few would be foolish enough to take away something that voters in neighboring states had. Remember medicare was originally opt-out and no one did.

On the other hand, to opt in takes political will, which means risk, which means it won't happen in many states, ironically the same states with the poorest, least insured and unhealthiest people. Similarly, triggers are a fancy way of saying it ain't never gonna happen. Historically lots of bills have included triggers, and those triggers never seem to get pulled. The only way changes happen automatically is when the changes are automatic, or like the Bush tax cuts, had a built in expiration date.

Every time the Right screams about potential taxes as this bill makes its way along, let's please remind them who robbed the treasury in the first place.

This is off topic, but why isn't TPM covering this story?

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/sestak-coburn-shameful/