Schumer: Public health option nears 60-vote mark in Senate

[TomCADem]

Source: USA Today

WASHINGTON (AP) — A proposal for government-backed health insurance is close to gaining the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate and probably will be in overhaul legislation, a Senate Democratic leader said Sunday.
A proposal for the public option that is gaining wide support would allow states to choose not to participate in a government-run insurance program, said New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the third-ranking Senate Democrat. The "opt out" proposal is drawing support from many liberal and moderate senators and less opposition from lawmakers wary of government insurance, he said.

Although Democrats control the 60 votes needed to advance legislation under Senate rules, not all Democrats support creating a government-run health insurance program — the biggest point of contention in the debate over President Barack Obama's top domestic policy priority.

Negotiations in recent days have focused on crafting a public option that would satisfy liberal and moderate Democrats and not drive away others.

Sen. Ben Nelson, a centrist Nebraska Democrat who objects to a national government-run insurance program, said he would be interested in a proposal that allows states to participate only if they ask to join. He called this approach an "opt in" program.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-10-25-schumer-health_N.htm

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Oh s*&t! Even Ben Nelson supports the opt out program.

[MarjorieG]

1. Weiner wants mandatory trial period; Nelson sounds more opt-in, if can opt-out immediately.

[msongs]

2. since they don't NEED 60 votes, what is the sell out/cave into weaken bills? nt

[TomCADem]

3. Right Wing Agrees With Your Cynicism and Distrust...

I think the right is on the same cynical page regarding health care reform:

http://thebulletin.us/articles/2009/10/25/commentary/op-eds/doc4ae4b917c18ed241678853.txt

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Obama Taking Us On Path To Fascism

The Obama campaign (thus referred to as they are in a campaign and not a governing mode), in the tradition of corrupt, thuggish, Chicago politics and fascism have also set out to destroy the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Rush Limbaugh, insurance companies and any other critics that stand in their way.

• When a health insurance company that marketed Medicare policies tried to warn its policyholders that Obamacare would hurt seniors’ insurance programs, the Department of Health and Human Services issued on a gag order on such communications with policyholders. It also said that the warning was misleading, which it was not. The gag order was since revoked, but its initial promulgation tells you something about the mentality of the White House and its attitude toward criticism. The Washington Post reported on the “gag order” as follows: “The federal government has ordered health insurers to stop telling Medicare beneficiaries that proposed health reform legislation could hurt seniors and jeopardize their benefits. The government might take enforcement action against insurers that have tried to mobilize opposition to the legislation by sending their enrollees "misleading and confusing" messages, a senior official of the Department of Health and Human Services said in a memo…” Query: Who will take action against Mr. Obama for the countless lies he’s telling in an effort to sell Obamacare?

• When segments of the health insurance industry turned against Obamacare, Mr. Obama threatened to have the antitrust exemption of the industry revoked. When the timing of the threat is taken into account, it is clear that this was revenge and payback for Obamacare criticism. For details see New York Times (October 17, 2008). Working in tandem with Mr. Obama, Congressional leaders also issued threats to insurance companies that dared to dissent.

* * *

• Mr. Obama and his administration are willing to tell lies, and big lies, over and over again, perhaps on the Goebbels theory that if you tell a big enough lie often enough it will be believed. One of the Obama lies that I found particularly irksome was his claim after the Senate Committee passed a version of Obamacare that it was a bipartisan product. In fact, Obamacare had finally garnered one Republican supporter (Senator Olympia “Republican in Name Only” Snowe, R., Me.) out of a Congress with 535 members. What’s worse, in the legislative process, the Republicans were frozen out and “did not have a seat at the table” to use one of Obama’s favorite figures of speech.

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[dreamnightwind]

4. Cloture, right?

They need the 60 for cloture, not to pass legislation.

I'm very confused about this. Most everything I hear talks about how they need 60.

I saw Arlen Specter on the tube awhile back (a week or two I think), saying how it's not all that unusual for a Senator to vote yes for cloture, then vote no on the bill. This sounds right to me, and should be exactly what Reid is up to, making sure none of the 60 Dems cross over to a Repub filibuster. Seems like the least he could insist on. If you're a Dem and you vote for the filibuster, you get punished for it.

Then it really only takes 50 to vote for the actual bill.

So why all the fuss about 60? Is it really all just a phony obstacle? Hard to believe they'd think we wouldn't notice something like that. Maybe there's more to it I don't understand, if so, I appreciate if someone could clue me in.

[Kingofalldems]

5. The neocon crowd is not liking this

A permanent Democratic majority? How quickly things change.

[Honeycombe8]

6. A miss is as good as a mile. 58 votes ain't enough. When will we hear about 60?

The magic number is 60. And it must have either a public option or STRONG, regulation that regulates costs and ins. co. profits (the latter will NEVER happen in our country, IMO).

So which is it? A public option with 60 votes? Or the semi-Republican Baucus bill with 60 votes that does NOTHING to contain costs and includes a huge giveaway to the ins. cos.?

I keep hearing one, and then the other. I don't know who to believe.

Joe Scabby says the bill won't incl. a P.O., but will incl. a trigger since that's what Snowe wants. He even LIED and said that's what Obama wants. (A total fabrication...Joe is getting worse and worse in pushing the GOP agenda.)

Then CNN says a few minutes later that they've learned the Senate bill WILL incl. a public option.

No one to turn to for authority.