Senate Deal Drops Public Option

[orangeblooded2]

Replaced with private sector alternative.




washingtonpost.com



"Under the deal, the government plan preferred by liberals would be replaced with a program that would create several national insurance policies administered by private companies but negotiated by the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees health policies for federal workers. If private firms were unable to deliver acceptable national policies, a government plan would be created".

Looks like what Olympia Snowe proposed all along.

[arTfuldodger]

Unless I'm understanding it wrong it sounds like well be better off with this than the previous atrocity of leg.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

[orangeblooded2]

Originally Posted by Orangekush423

Unless I'm understanding it wrong it sounds like well be better off with this than the previous atrocity of leg.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

The only bad or wrong thing to do is nothing. All the players and power brokers are in line to get something better for everyone. Change in our systems was designed to be a slow process by the Founding Fathers. Relatively speaking. Something like this has been talked about for more than a generation. Ultimately a good piece of legislation will be worked out.

[droski]

it becomes a public option if they determine the private insurance isn't fairly priced. what are the chances they actually consider it fairly priced? 0%?

[rjd970]

If private firms were unable to deliver acceptable national policies, a government plan would be created.

Sounds like to me the public option is still in the bill, they are just forcing private companies to foot the bill or the government creates one anyway.

[orangeblooded2]

Originally Posted by rjd970

Sounds like to me the public option is still in the bill, they are just forcing private companies to foot the bill or the government creates one anyway.

Maybe not foot the bill. But certainly forcing them to make less profit. I guarantee that the Insurance industry complies. Everyone, industry, and what 50% of the citizens don't want the government option.

[utvolpj]

Originally Posted by orangeblooded2

Maybe not foot the bill. But certainly forcing them to make less profit.

have you seen the profit margins of the insurance companies?

[OrangeEmpire]

This is nothing but political smoke and mirrors. I wish these people would die!

[orangeblooded2]

Originally Posted by utvolpj

have you seen the profit margins of the insurance companies?

You may think they don't cook the books to the degree the government does.

[KB5252]

I may not know much but it would seem to me that before we go and pass a bill that gives the government the authority to control health insurance we would first investigate the reason for insurance prices and their rise over the last 10 to 15 years. It just seems much more logical to find out what the problem is before we go trying to fix it.

IIRC I saw a story where insurance companies profits are at around 4% on the average, that doesn't sound like gouging to me. It seems there must be some other factor(s) at play here, perhaps the reason we haven't had a study or at least studies like these haven't been publicized is that either politicians or we as a society would not like the results.

[MG1968]

Originally Posted by utvolpj

have you seen the profit margins of the insurance companies?

obviously he hasn't, he's just parroting the leftist party line that a 2% profit margin is "obscene"

[rjd970]

Originally Posted by MG1968

obviously he hasn't, he's just parroting the leftist party line that a 2% profit margin is "obscene"

In all fairness, a small percentage of a huge number is still a really big number. That is a truth Sam Walton realized could make him billions.

Nevertheless, I'm not going to sit here and defend the public option or what it would or wouldn't do to private industry.

[droski]

apparently the healthcare plan requires companies to pay out 90% of the premiums they receive leaving only 10% for administrative cost and profit. no company would agree to such ridiculous terms.

[joevol320]

it will never get dropped. do you guys really think it will go through. knowing the dems, after the bill is passed, they'll write it in.

[orangeblooded2]

In addition to the OP.


House, Senate health care bills grow further apart - CNN.com


In part seems that the Insurance companies would have to issue non profit policies.

Also details addition hurdles to passage.