voices.washingtonpost.com - 8/17/2009
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Well, there's also a huge difference -- and this hasn't been commented on at all in the MSM -- between getting a bill out of the Senate to conference, and getting it passed by the Senate after it emerges from conferences. Reform is dead if they can't get a bill to conference, and it's been clear ...
fivethirtyeight.com - 8/17/2009
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fivethirtyeight.com —
From the President on downward, the White House
now seems resigned to losing the fight over the...
"public option", a government-run insurance plan that would complete against private plans. It's time to re-assess the playing field in light of this ...
(more)
Life After the Death of the Public Option
voices.washingtonpost.com - 8/18/2009
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voices.washingtonpost.com —
Co-ops suffer the same flaw as the 'public
option'. Both have no profit motive. While good liberals...
will tell you that profit is an ugly word and should not be a part of healthcare, I disagree and here's why: Capital demands a return on investment. ...
(more)
Ezra Klein
- Co-Ops as an Alternative to the Public Plan
Comments
Blog Reactions
Hullabaloo —
... . And MassCare does not have a public option. That part of reform was pretty much always designed as a bargaining chip, in the context of this legislation. And the White House has been bargaining with it consistently over a number of months. ...
Playing Dumb For Obama
TalkLeft —
Ezra Klein: The question has never been whether the White House supports the public option. It's whether Congress -- and, in particular, the Senate -- has the votes to pass it. Sebelius's statement this week does not change the administration's position. But it is being widely reported because it comes in context of the sagging popularity of health-care reform, and the changing conventional wisdom on the legislative politics. Namely, many think it increasingly likely that the White House will have to compromise on the public option because ...
What Ezra Said
Interesting Times —
At times like this I like to consult Ezra Klein. He makes the point that the latest kerfluffle is the umpteenth time we've heard reports that the public option was going to be abandoned. He also makes the point that Obama has never (with one unclear exception) said that the public option was essential. As much as I get annoyed at right-wing talking points, that annoyance is small compared to the ingrained cynicism I see on the left. Many really want to believe that they will be sold out. It's almost makes them feel better to believe it. Note that this does not mean that the ...
Holding Firm on the Public Option
Comments from Left Field —
... and lawmakers who believe in it to fight for it, is all. The ability to add and subtract helps, too.
No one on the liberal/progressive side believes that a public option does not matter, or that health care reform would be just as fine without it. However, there are those in liberal blogtopia who argue that it should not be a deal-breaker. The three best-known bloggers I’ve seen make this argument are Nate Silver, Ezra Klein, and Matthew Yglesias.
As for me, I’m torn. But ...
Holding Firm on the Public Option
The Moderate Voice —
... and lawmakers who believe in it to fight for it, is all. The ability to add and subtract helps, too.
No one on the liberal/progressive side believes that a public option does not matter, or that health care reform would be just as fine without it. However, there are those in liberal blogtopia who argue that it should not be a deal-breaker. The three best-known bloggers I’ve seen make this argument are Nate Silver, Ezra Klein, and Matthew Yglesias.
As for me, I’m torn. But Silver, ...
Related Content
Ezra Klein
- Against Giving Up on the Public Option
voices.washingtonpost.com 8/19/2009 — Congratulations, Ezra! Yesterday, you adopted the Beltway style of reporting when you said that Howard Dean was wrong about something just because he wasn't a public option proponent in 2004. I remember Dean's promises. He promised quality coverage to ...
Ezra Klein
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voices.washingtonpost.com 8/18/2009 — "as Schmitt says, the public plan being considered isn't a particularly good vehicle for that transition" You don't have to consider a public option the stalking horse for single-payer to want an alternative to BCBS or UnitedHealth or Your State's ...
Ezra Klein
- The New Message
voices.washingtonpost.com 8/15/2009 — Too little, too late, I fear. Kent Conrad has just announced he'll vote against a bill that contains a public option, giving cover now to Landrieu, Nelson, the Wal-Mart Twins, Snowe, Collins, possibly Lieberman. You'll recall, of course, your ...
Ezra Klein
- More From the HELP Bill
voices.washingtonpost.com 7/2/2009 — I used to work for a very large company. Someone once asked the HR guy: why can't we get better health benefits (this was, oh, 10 + years ago). He said: well, we're a really large employer, there aren't so many companies that would be able to cover ...
Ezra Klein
- Doctors Support the Public Option
voices.washingtonpost.com 9/14/2009 — @SS306 - that thing up there where the words "national poll" looks different - that's one of them there hypertext links. Click on it, you get to a summary page, and can download the whole report. "1. Public and Private Options: Provide people under ...
Fred Hiatt Channels Ezra Klein On The Public Option
talkleft.com 8/24/2009 — Via Glenn Greenwald (read his great post), Fred Hiatt channels Ezra Klein : [T]he reality is that, if the Obama administration wants to get health reform done, it's going to have to back away from the public option sooner or later -- and it's ...
Ezra Klein
- Why Health Reform Is Likely to Have a Public Plan
voices.washingtonpost.com 6/3/2009 — long hard ride with no cerveza at the end of the trail. Now, there's talk of a 'triggered' public option if the private insurers don't behave for a couple of years - an option to be exercised at some future date when it is forgotten. Stupidist idea of ...
Ezra Klein
- Should Democrats Fight for the Public Plan?
voices.washingtonpost.com 6/24/2009 — Well, let's be careful to remember that the public option is for the currently uninsured and 20%-30% cheaper premiums than what they'd pay for individual or small group policies is STILL MORE THAN what the 250 million of us with employer-based or ...
Ezra Klein
- The Money Problem
voices.washingtonpost.com 9/4/2009 — Ezra, if only you were around when Medicare was being thought up. And watch our you're going to tick off your liberal buddies if you suggest taxing cadillac plans. Its what SHOULD be done but we should also find a way around defensive medicine but ...
Ezra Klein
- The Tea Party vs. the Polls
voices.washingtonpost.com 9/15/2009 — This is called losing the messaging war, Ezra. We may get a decent bill (although the public option is gone, daddy, gone), but it's tough to understand why Obama and the Democrats dithered the summer away by negotiating with themselves and placating ...
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