Wake Up Folks: The Opt-Out Is Political Genius. Pure Political Genius.

[MannyGoldstein]

Look:

70% of Americans want a public option for health insurance. 70% is a lopsided number - anything above 67% in a poll is a total blowout.

At 70% nationwide, it's likely that most people in all states want the public option.

So, the pols in each state, even the batshit crazy states, have a choice to make:

1. Vote against the public option and be electorally eviscerated when it comes time for re-election, or
2. Vote for the thing.

In the end, the public option means cheaper health care, and no politician (unless they have teh Super Crazy) wants to be between a voter and a clear shot at saving a buck. Even Buck Faucus is now backpeddling as fast as he can away from his Finance Commitee's french kiss of America's health insurers. Only the most crazed fascisti will get in the way of this freight train - if it actually happens - and since it's not scheduled to happen for many years, there'll be time enough to vote those pigs out of office and replace 'em by folks who will give the people what they want.

In the end, all 50 states will have the public option by the time it kicks in.

Not to get all rosy-visioned here: There are all sorts of ways this can get screwed up, and I'm as skeptical as anybody that anyone but the bankers will get something nice out of Washington for the next few years. However, in the happy event that the Dems rent a backbone long enough to do this thing, it will be sheer political genius (and they will win my gratitude - particularly Pelosi, who's pretty much stayed with the program the whole time).

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Oh and it was far more than I expected

though I think Reid also has read Caro's Master of the Senate, and how LBJ used to do bidness. I suspect the toxic bill out of finance was part of the game as well.

[SpartanDem]

2. It also can't be taken until people have it

granted it's only one year, but it's going to be hard or any gov or legislature to do that. Don't be surprised if the House pushes for a longer lead time.

[saracat]

3. Please. This is just political expediency. I am not grateful for this garbage.

This won't even cover but a small percentage to begin with and the optout discriminates against the states that need it most.This is about the midterms and bipartisanship. We are "compromising" and kissing elephant ass again. We want itg to be easier for them to accept and we are doing it at the expense of our fellow citizens health care.

[JVS]

4. Sorry, but the states that need things most need to start voting in accordance with their needs.

[saracat]

28. Gee. That sounds just like a Bushie.And there is no problem with punishing the red state Dems too!

Funny. They liked us enough to take our money and let us work for them. Now, we are collateral damage.

[NoUsername]

11. They're not kissing elephant ass.

The so-called compromising under the guise of "bipartisanship" is nothing more than a cover for kissing corporate ass. Always has been, always will be.

The phrase "working in a bipartisan fashion" means one of two things, depending on the person uttering the phrase. If s/he is Republican, it means s/he is up for re-election in a Dem state and they're desperate. If s/he is a Dem, it's invariably used as an excuse to abandon any and all campaign promises and sell out the constituents to the highest bidder. It's despicable no matter who is using it but it's especially heinous when it's used as a cover to sell the public's health care to the highest bidder. Lives are at stake but that means nothing when corporate profits are being threatened. I think we all know who will win out in the end.

[saracat]

27. Excellent post. And you are very right! +1!

[Marr]

29. *edit* posted in wrong place

Dammit, keep doing that lately. :P

[golddigger]

37. + 1

[AllentownJake]

5. The Public Option will cover at most what?

3-5% of the population?

Seriously folks there is a lot more stuff in this bill than the public option. It is amazing how effectively it has become the nexus of all debate.

[HughMoran]

14. I do wonder what I'm supposed to do about insurance in the short term

Working for a small company where the total (unsubsidized) rate is $36k/year - over 4x what it was at my previous company - has me kind of freaked out. So far I'm staying on Cobra as it's much cheaper, but I'll have to sign up at open enrollment in Jan. and I hear rates will go up another 10% (40k/year for family plan :( )

[AllentownJake]

15. We'll see what the bill does about reducing cost

Honestly with legislation you can have the best intentions in the world but you never know about the unintended consequences so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that policy rates go down.

[HughMoran]

16. I think I'm going to be ass-raped for the next few years

I really don't see rates going down. I've been tempted to call the insurance company (it's the same company - BCBS) and asking them why my rates should now be 4x higher just because I changed jobs. It's not like my family has changed any :( The only reason I don't is due to my inability to not tell people I'm going to break their spines when they start repeating the corporate talking points.

[AllentownJake]

19. We are honestly looking at the complete destruction of the middle class

If I were an employer I'd be lobbying for single payer. Take the expense just totally off my books.

With the employment market the way it is you are going to see more companies moving more and more insurance cost onto their employees because they can.

We have to remember where employment coverage evolved from, a competitive labor market.

[HughMoran]

21. My company is so small - the company president is actually hoping Obama will do something soon

I actually feel bad forcing the company to pay 65% of the rate as it makes the company less competitive and I would like the company to succeed (so I can continue to have a job - duh.) This is one of the biggest issues confronting small & entrepreneurial companies these days - you'd think Republicans (who supposedly love small businesses) would be chomping at the bit for healthcare reform. Their stance is so entirely stupid that I am wondering how Republicans keep their mental health these days.

[AllentownJake]

22. There is a giant disconnect

between the base of the GOP and the GOP elites who are in congress. This disconnect is from the base being bat-shit insane and the congress critters being greedy fucks.

Everytime the GOP takes power they increase the size of government, generally by giving away government money to their friends who than employ them when they leave government.

[HughMoran]

24. I hope the sanctimonious blowhards never figure it out

Anyway, I'm a Phillies fan now too - as a Red Sox fan, it's a given that the Yankees suck and I always root against them when the Sox are out of it. BTW, I've been to Allentown - AT&T had a facility there that I visited a few times back in the late 80's.

[AllentownJake]

26. My dad worked at that facility

For 33 years. It's vacant now.

The Phillies appreciate your support and I always root for the Red Sox when they play the hated Yankees

[patrice]

6. What opt-out please? nt

[NoSheep]

12. Are you asking what does opt-out mean in this context? It means individual states

will be able to choose if they want a public option available to their residents or not (I think...if that's what you mean!)

[patrice]

17. I know that. What I don't know is what the specific opt-out provision in the current legislation is.

[NoSheep]

20. Ah. Sorry...thought you were illiterate! LOL

:hi:

[msongs]

7. a multi-billion dollar welfare payoff to health scare corporations nt

[Ian David]

8. The same people who accuse others of "bashing" the red states...

... are the first ones to say the voters in their states are too fucking stupid to vote-out anyone who opts-out of The Public Option.

[saracat]

31. They aren't too stupid. The state party,which had more money than god in my state

was too busy kissing the butt of the DNC, who tapped us as a donor because we had all this money, and they didn't bother promoting local candidates because the DNC didn't want them to.And now, those of us who worked and donated are to be discarded because we live in a red state! Maybe if some of our own money had been directed locally we wouldn't be a red state. Maybe GOTV would have helped. Maybe the DNC folks could have encouraged voters to vote the downline instead of just for president. Maybe the State party could have put up a fight when the anti Gay marrige iniative hit the ballot. GOPers who weren't planning to vote swarmed to the polls after having been lobbyied by out of state millions. But we had given our money away to blue states and the DNC didn't want to look too "pro-gay". Maybe OFA could actually try to get local candidates elected instead of worrying about reelection . Maybe if our Democratic Gov wasn't spirited away to be Homeland security Secretary, a move many Dems didn't like, we wouldn't be a red state.We wouldn't have a GOP Gov. Everyone knew the GOP Sec of State, who is next in line in our state, was practically helping the GOV pack her bags.The GOP was jubilant.They no longer had a veto pen to worry about. No, the voters aren't stupid. They just feel hopeless, and the GOP voters just do not share our viewpoints.

[BlueDemKev]

9. Let's See How Many Red States Choose to "Opt-In"

It will be interesting to see how many of the red states ultimately choose to make the federal public option available for their residents (i.e.--Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, West Virginia, to name a few).

Those who hate "big government" the most are also the ones who reap the benefits of it.

[annabanana]

36. They WILL be "in".. They CAN'T opt OUT until 2014

(At least the way the Senate bill is currently written)

[Nikki Stone1]

10. I don't agree with you. I think it is going to be much harder than you think.

unrec

[wiggs]

13. Agree that once the bill is passed, will be very difficult for states to opt out. HOWEVER

it will be easy for republicans to filibuster or vote against it in the first place...they can and have demonized dems and Obama and can say they are voting against THEM without saying they are voting against their constituents' interests.

Even this watered down health care bill will attract screeches and denigration that we won't believe. Pugs will say they are the only thing standing between the present and total devastation of our country. They will lie from now till the vote. They will vote against cloture...they will vote against the bill. Hannity's head will explode. Then if the bill passes, every one will stay in the program. Not only are they unprincipled, they are cowards.

It won't be easy.

But...this is all talk about insurance. When can we talk about lowering the actual costs of actual health care? Had a CT scan a couple of weeks ago. I was literally in and out in 30 minutes. 900 dollars.

[European Socialist]

18. Agreed--The health insurance industry will go the way of...

the Tobacco industry. It will still be there, but with greatly diminished power.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

23. You don't know how backwards and proud of it these red state politicians are.

Ignorant, backwards, kicking and screaming to go back to the days when slavery was legal and women knew their place.

And those of us who want a public option and live in these backwards places will suffer. See my post about the legal process we may have to go through to get public option.

[ThePantaloon.com]

25. An Aetna Ad pops up

on this topic. Those bastards.

[misanthrope]

30. Think again...

...Not only is that 70% not distributed evenly across the nation, but those few in the "red" states who do want it are normally politically marginalized to boot.

There will be plenty of states, like the one where I've spent 45 years, where the political leaders will opt out and the ignorant masses will applaud them all the way. I've seen it plenty of times.

[laughingliberal]

32. Going against the grain but, with some reservations, I agree with OP

I think this is far more than I thought we would see 3 weeks ago. I like that they made having the public option the default position and put states in the position of having to take something away. I also heard, as it stands now, if a state opts out they have to set up their own system to replace it. Let us not forget Medicaid has an opt out provision. And not even the reddest state has opted out of it.

[DeltaLitProf]

33. We can't really say this to Republicans but . . .

. . . when the public option becomes available, many companies will choose to end their health benefits coverage and advise their employees to go to the public option. They'll have no alternative, because private insurance has already said it intends to raise its rates as retaliation for the passage of the public option.

We're not going to get single payer by legislating it. It will happen naturally, via the exodus of companies from the overpriced, corrupt health insurance cartel. Few Republicans seem to realize this yet. Let's keep them in the dark till this thing passes.

[retread]

34. Logic and reality applies to repigs? n/t

[cali]

35. could you please link to polls that demonstrate that 76% of Americans

support a public option?

[MannyGoldstein]

39. Recent AARP Poll

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/08/26/AARP-poll-shows-divide-over-public-option/UPI-42171251305003/

[JTFrog]

38. Now you're telling people to wake up?

Now you get it?

Whatever.

[emulatorloo]

40. Good analysis n/t

[ThoughtCriminal]

41. Historically, my bat-shit insane state legislature

will bend over backwards to deny citizens healthcare. The prospect that they will get to cast a vote against "Socialism" is down-right exciting for them. They actually think that it will probably get them a better seat in Heaven.

And if recent history is an indicator, they are either too stupid, or live in safely stupid districts to worry about the political consequences.

Where am I? Arizona. We're not really that red of state, but we keep electing them anyway.