Public Health Care Option Still Available
Reform Critics Fear Government Take Over
POSTED: 8:49 pm EDT August 18,
2009
UPDATED: 10:07 pm EDT August 18,
2009
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WASHINGTON -- In the debate over health care reform, the White House said a public health insurance option is not off the table after all. The government-run public option would provide insurance to millions of uninsured Americans.The public option is the most controversial aspect of the president's reform plan, but the White House said reports that the president is ready to abandon it are just not true.
Public Option Debate Continues"Whether we have it or don't have it," President Barack Obama said Saturday.Over the weekend, Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius seemed to signal a willingness to drop the public option."That is not the essential element," said Sebelius.No public option, no reform bill, many Democratic lawmakers warned and now Sebelius said the media got it wrong."All I can tell you is that Sunday must have been a very slow news day because here's the bottom line: absolutely nothing has changed," Sebelius said.What may be changing is consumer confidence. The latest Robert Wood Johnson Foundation survey shows Americans' confidence in health insurance coverage and affordability dropped in July with the largest drop among seniors. The AARP blames it on what it calls scare tactics by opponents of reform."People are hearing about rationed care and death panels, things like that. Things that aren't in the bill aren't remotely true, but it certainly gets people concerned," said AARP spokesman Jordan McNerney.Critics of reform said people are concerned because they don't want a "government take over of health care."Those critics continue to speak out at town hall meetings like one in Oklahoma."People are trying to say, 'Washington you're not paying attention to us,' and it's common when you feel somebody's not listening to you. You get in their face and raise your voice," said analyst Ernest Istook, with the Heritage Foundation.In an interesting twist, the drug industry and a consumer advocacy group have launched a multimillion dollar ad campaign thanking 15 senators for working across the aisle to try to get a reform bill passed.Currently, there is much to debate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the public option will be a part of the bill the House considers, but on the Senate side analysts said dropping the public option may be the only way to win over conservative Democrats. It could, however, also alienate progressives in the party.Vice President Joe Biden will lead a roundtable discussion on health care reform in Chicago on Wednesday.
Public Option Debate Continues"Whether we have it or don't have it," President Barack Obama said Saturday.Over the weekend, Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius seemed to signal a willingness to drop the public option."That is not the essential element," said Sebelius.No public option, no reform bill, many Democratic lawmakers warned and now Sebelius said the media got it wrong."All I can tell you is that Sunday must have been a very slow news day because here's the bottom line: absolutely nothing has changed," Sebelius said.What may be changing is consumer confidence. The latest Robert Wood Johnson Foundation survey shows Americans' confidence in health insurance coverage and affordability dropped in July with the largest drop among seniors. The AARP blames it on what it calls scare tactics by opponents of reform."People are hearing about rationed care and death panels, things like that. Things that aren't in the bill aren't remotely true, but it certainly gets people concerned," said AARP spokesman Jordan McNerney.Critics of reform said people are concerned because they don't want a "government take over of health care."Those critics continue to speak out at town hall meetings like one in Oklahoma."People are trying to say, 'Washington you're not paying attention to us,' and it's common when you feel somebody's not listening to you. You get in their face and raise your voice," said analyst Ernest Istook, with the Heritage Foundation.In an interesting twist, the drug industry and a consumer advocacy group have launched a multimillion dollar ad campaign thanking 15 senators for working across the aisle to try to get a reform bill passed.Currently, there is much to debate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the public option will be a part of the bill the House considers, but on the Senate side analysts said dropping the public option may be the only way to win over conservative Democrats. It could, however, also alienate progressives in the party.Vice President Joe Biden will lead a roundtable discussion on health care reform in Chicago on Wednesday.Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
