Thread: Public insurance option gets a second look

Advocates are seeking more palatable approaches that might get 60 Senate votes

Public insurance option gets a second look

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
The Associated Press October 15, 2009

WASHINGTON — Fears about high costs of the health care overhaul and mistrust of insurers are rekindling interest in letting the government sell health insurance as part of the plan.

The leading congressional proposal as of Wednesday – a Senate Finance Committee bill that relies on private coverage with no new government plan – could price out some 17 million Americans. And the insurance industry may have unwittingly helped the case for public coverage with a report over the weekend asserting that the Finance Committee bill would raise premiums for everyone.

Business groups and conservatives remain steadfastly opposed to government insurance – formidable political opposition that shows no sign of weakening. So advocates are getting creative, trying to reformulate the “public optionâ€

They are going to push this bill through so it is in our best interest to encourage our political representatives to support and enact "state rights" legislation to nulligy the health care reform bill.

If our states leaders won't pursue this course of action, relocation maybe a viable option for some of us.