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The merged House health care reform bill is expect to be announced tomorrow around 10:00 AM EDT. Reporting indicates that it is unlikely to contain the public option tied to Medicare rates favored by progressives. This will hurt the public option’s ability to strongly drive down prices and dramatically save the government money.
Regardless of which public option the House bill contains, the CBO says it will extend coverage to 6-7 million more Americans than the Senate Finance Committee package. The House bill is expected to cover an additional 36 million Americans, while the Senate Finance Committee bill would only cover an additional 29 million people.
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I thought medicare rates or medicare rates + 5 was better than negotiated. What do you think we will get?
The AP article says opt-out as well. Is that what you’ve heard as well?
“Instead, the health and human services secretary would be allowed to negotiate rates with providers and the program would be optional for states, the approach preferred by moderates and the one that will be featured in the Senate’s version.”
AP is wrong it will not have a opt out.
Goddamn it. Any chance for an amendment that makes it a Medicare+5 public option but also fixes the problem with Medicare rates in rural states? It’d get scored as saving $85B, taking away just about everyone’s stated reasons for hesitating on the robust public option.
10%-11% decrease in cost to a few million people (maybe 5 million?) at most will not strongly drive down prices.
$110 billion saved over ten years (do i have the number right?) from the nation’s total healthcare expenditures is less than 0.5%. not dramatic.
or maybe, as with the term “robust,” the meaning of the words “strong” and “dramatic” have been changed this year? if so, a frequently updated glossary of terms would help me keep up.
You’re right. And the fact that it isn’t tied to Medicare +5% rates makes me very, very suspicious. Do they want to neuter one of the public option’s biggest selling points? It’s something that progressives and moderate, fiscally hawkish Democrats can all get behind. It makes so much sense, is a slam dunk politically. What is going on?