Dean pushes Medicare opt in to Think Progress..."must be available day one"

[madfloridian]

Howard Dean was interviewed today by Think Progress. He started pushing the Medicare opt strongly a few weeks ago.

Howard Dean Pushes Medicare Buy-In Proposal: It ‘Must Be Available To Americans From Day One’

From Igor Volsky:

The Senate is considering expanding the Medicare program to Americans under 65 years of age alongside a public option compromise that would allow the Office of Personnel Management to regulate competition among private nonprofit insurers. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean “injected the buy-in concept back into the negotiations two weeks ago,” Politico reports. And “the turning point in the debate occurred over the past few weeks, as some progressives began to question whether the public option had been watered down too much for it to even be effective. Dean called Reid and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to suggest that they revisit the Medicare buy-in proposal, which he pushed during his 2004 campaign.”

In a statement issued to ThinkProgress, Howard Dean — a longtime proponent of the public health insurance option and co-author of Howard Dean’s Prescription For Health Care Reform — explains why he supports expanding the Medicare program

The quotes from the interview:

I’ve been a long-time strong supporter of opening up the Medicare system to any American who wants to enroll in it, and I continue to believe that Medicare is a proven success story that delivers quality care efficiently. Allowing Americans under 65 to enroll in this program would generate the kind of competition that lowers costs and improves the delivery of care within the private sector. In order to be effective, however, this option must be available to Americans from day one and should be offered as an option within the exchanges, once they become operational.

Ultimately, if Democratic health reform forces Americans to purchase coverage from private insurers and does not give everyone the choice of a public plan, Democrats and the President will have to face the consequences of their watered down proposals at the voting booth.

Use your majority or lose your majority, as he once said.

People are hurting, and they are getting impatient with political games.

[yurbud]

1. If we had a real democracy and free press that wasn't beholden to corporate interests...

Howard would be president.

[freddie mertz]

2. Lowering to 55 won't cut it.

Has to be down to 25-26 or it's useless.

I'd be covered by the 55 drop, by the way.

PS This whole process seems to have gone insane.

No one at the wheel, apparently.

[madfloridian]

3. It would be one option beside others apparently.

Not useless, but not good enough unless for everyone.