Health Care Q&A Part IV: A New Hope
Part I Part II Part III
Q. So what happened to health insurance reform?
A. Everyone's sick. (sotto voce) Of it.
Q. Congress is sick? Don't they have socialist health care? How could they get ill?
A. Hey, even people in Socialist Nirvanas like Sweden and Denmark get sick! It's just that when they do, they get taken care of without bankrupting either themselves or their countries. Care in Sweden is provided 'on equal terms and according to need', consuming 9% of GDP, while Denmark also provides universal care at 9.5% of GDP.
Q. I know, I know. More vaccines for the krona. More operations for the krone. I get it. Really. But besides everyone in the US being sick, what is going on healthcare-wise?
A. The Senate Finance Committee is going to vote on their bill this
coming Tuesday.
Q. The one Senator Baucus proposed a month ago?
A. The very same (augmented with scads of amendments).
Q. The one without a public option?
A. You got it.
Q. The one with mandates to purchase health insurance for everyone?
A. That very one.
Q. The one that everyone hates?
A. Indeed.
Q. Will it pass?
A. At this point no one knows. And no one may care.
Q. Why are they voting on it if no one cares?
A. That's what the Senate does. It's their raison d'etre. Besides, the Congressional Budget Office released their score, projecting the cost cost savings to the government of the bill over the next ten years.
Q. So it actually saves money to give people more health care?
A. That's what the CBO says. But the American people don't believe it by a 71% - 19% margin.
Q. So why doesn't anyone like it?
A. It doesn't have a public option. And it's a socialist plot.
Q. But didn't the Senate Finance Committee vote down a public option?
A. Of course. That's a socialist plot.
Q. And doesn't the bill make insurance companies even wealthier?
A. It does. Without a public option, there's no obvious check on
insurance premiums, and everyone will have to have insurance.
Q. So where's the socialism?
A. All over. The White House. The Congress. Vermont. Canada. Your neighbor's house two doors down -- den of socialism. The kids in the choir singing about health care -- radical Socialists trained by Yoko Ono.
Q. Never mind. So after fourth months of negotiations, they're going
to vote, and no one cares?
A. Five. But who's counting?
Q. I am. Are these people spending most of their time on another planet?
A. Probably Uranus. But I digress. What's really happening is that there's a new compromise proposal being touted.
Q. By whom?
A. By everyone.
Q. Including my crazy aunt Lucy?
A. Haven't asked her yet. But including Howard Dean (D - Democratic wing of the Democratic party), Ben Nelson (D - Insurance Companies), Chuck Schumer (D - Investment Banks), Max Baucus (D - Big Insurance Companies), and most important, Nate Silver. And even non-influential bloggers like Paul Krugman.
Q. So what's this awesome compromise?
A. A public option with an opt-out provision for any state that wants
to not participate.
Q. That's it?
A. That's all. Modulo the eventual 50 pages of wherefore's and whence's.
Q. What's the catch?
A. The catch?
Q. There's always a catch.
A. Oh, that catch. That would be the one where those who are currently uninsured in states which opt out would likely have to pay more in premiums than their peers in neighboring, opted-in states, since they would have to have health insurance but wouldn't be able to
purchase the public plan.
Q. Does anyone care?
A. The usual suspects: Bleeding-heart liberals. Socialists. Certain sub-categories of zombies.
Q. Why would a state want to opt out?
A. Because it would cost the state money (no, not a penny, the public plan is supposed to be self-financing), there would be little public support (almost every poll in almost every states shows at least plurality support for a public option, and those that don't are close), insurance companies would lobby state legislatures to opt out, ignoring the popular will (Ah, we may be on to something), states like Texas, Florida and Oklahoma are controlled by Republicans (now we're really on to something), or it's a socialist plot (BINGO!).
Q. But I thought the public plan was dead? Or deader, as in doornail. Even deadest, as in Norwegian blue dead. As in no more.
A. Dead indeed. But insofar as you keep using that word, I do not think it means to Congresscritters what you and I think it means.
Q. How was it resurrected? Did it take longer than three days?
A. At least a week. These kind of things take longer in the Modern Era.
It seems to have begun when Alan Grayson, an obscure Democratic US Representative from Florida called the Republicans out, and then as an encore apologized admonished Republicans to 'care about people after they were born, too', and finally told them to fuck off.
Liberals in the House then made it clear once more how adamament they were in demanding a public option.
And 30 liberal Senate Democrats managed yesterday to not roll over and play
dead, sending a letter to Harry Reid urging him to fight for a public plan.
While Harry Reid goes back and forth daily (as if this is news), stronger statements than usual have recently appeared from Nancy Pelosi, e.g.:
"I think it's very clear from our conversations with the members that the votes are there for a public option"
Q. So if the Senate Finance Committee already vetoed a public plan, how does it make its way back into the legislation?
A. Simple. In theory. Whatever comes out of the SFC has to merged with another Senate health insurance reform bill that came out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee months ago. Only then will it be voted on by the full Senate. That committee voted out a bill with a public option, so if the powers that be want a public option in the final Senate bill, all they have to do is put it there. Or a revised public option with an opt-out could be proposed via amendment once the bill reaches the Senate floor.
Q. Who are the powers that be?
A. Reid, the Senator Majority Leader, Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Harkin, Chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, and someone from the White House representing the administration.
Q. So will a bill with a public option pass the Senate?
A. You'd have to be sick to make such a prediction.
Q. So what happened to health insurance reform?
A. Everyone's sick. (sotto voce) Of it.
Q. Congress is sick? Don't they have socialist health care? How could they get ill?
A. Hey, even people in Socialist Nirvanas like Sweden and Denmark get sick! It's just that when they do, they get taken care of without bankrupting either themselves or their countries. Care in Sweden is provided 'on equal terms and according to need', consuming 9% of GDP, while Denmark also provides universal care at 9.5% of GDP.
Q. I know, I know. More vaccines for the krona. More operations for the krone. I get it. Really. But besides everyone in the US being sick, what is going on healthcare-wise?
A. The Senate Finance Committee is going to vote on their bill this
coming Tuesday.
Q. The one Senator Baucus proposed a month ago?
A. The very same (augmented with scads of amendments).
Q. The one without a public option?
A. You got it.
Q. The one with mandates to purchase health insurance for everyone?
A. That very one.
Q. The one that everyone hates?
A. Indeed.
Q. Will it pass?
A. At this point no one knows. And no one may care.
Q. Why are they voting on it if no one cares?
A. That's what the Senate does. It's their raison d'etre. Besides, the Congressional Budget Office released their score, projecting the cost cost savings to the government of the bill over the next ten years.
Q. So it actually saves money to give people more health care?
A. That's what the CBO says. But the American people don't believe it by a 71% - 19% margin.
Q. So why doesn't anyone like it?
A. It doesn't have a public option. And it's a socialist plot.
Q. But didn't the Senate Finance Committee vote down a public option?
A. Of course. That's a socialist plot.
Q. And doesn't the bill make insurance companies even wealthier?
A. It does. Without a public option, there's no obvious check on
insurance premiums, and everyone will have to have insurance.
Q. So where's the socialism?
A. All over. The White House. The Congress. Vermont. Canada. Your neighbor's house two doors down -- den of socialism. The kids in the choir singing about health care -- radical Socialists trained by Yoko Ono.
Q. Never mind. So after fourth months of negotiations, they're going
to vote, and no one cares?
A. Five. But who's counting?
Q. I am. Are these people spending most of their time on another planet?
A. Probably Uranus. But I digress. What's really happening is that there's a new compromise proposal being touted.
Q. By whom?
A. By everyone.
Q. Including my crazy aunt Lucy?
A. Haven't asked her yet. But including Howard Dean (D - Democratic wing of the Democratic party), Ben Nelson (D - Insurance Companies), Chuck Schumer (D - Investment Banks), Max Baucus (D - Big Insurance Companies), and most important, Nate Silver. And even non-influential bloggers like Paul Krugman.
Q. So what's this awesome compromise?
A. A public option with an opt-out provision for any state that wants
to not participate.
Q. That's it?
A. That's all. Modulo the eventual 50 pages of wherefore's and whence's.
Q. What's the catch?
A. The catch?
Q. There's always a catch.
A. Oh, that catch. That would be the one where those who are currently uninsured in states which opt out would likely have to pay more in premiums than their peers in neighboring, opted-in states, since they would have to have health insurance but wouldn't be able to
purchase the public plan.
Q. Does anyone care?
A. The usual suspects: Bleeding-heart liberals. Socialists. Certain sub-categories of zombies.
Q. Why would a state want to opt out?
A. Because it would cost the state money (no, not a penny, the public plan is supposed to be self-financing), there would be little public support (almost every poll in almost every states shows at least plurality support for a public option, and those that don't are close), insurance companies would lobby state legislatures to opt out, ignoring the popular will (Ah, we may be on to something), states like Texas, Florida and Oklahoma are controlled by Republicans (now we're really on to something), or it's a socialist plot (BINGO!).
Q. But I thought the public plan was dead? Or deader, as in doornail. Even deadest, as in Norwegian blue dead. As in no more.
A. Dead indeed. But insofar as you keep using that word, I do not think it means to Congresscritters what you and I think it means.
Q. How was it resurrected? Did it take longer than three days?
A. At least a week. These kind of things take longer in the Modern Era.
It seems to have begun when Alan Grayson, an obscure Democratic US Representative from Florida called the Republicans out, and then as an encore apologized admonished Republicans to 'care about people after they were born, too', and finally told them to fuck off.
Liberals in the House then made it clear once more how adamament they were in demanding a public option.
And 30 liberal Senate Democrats managed yesterday to not roll over and play
dead, sending a letter to Harry Reid urging him to fight for a public plan.
While Harry Reid goes back and forth daily (as if this is news), stronger statements than usual have recently appeared from Nancy Pelosi, e.g.:
"I think it's very clear from our conversations with the members that the votes are there for a public option"
Q. So if the Senate Finance Committee already vetoed a public plan, how does it make its way back into the legislation?
A. Simple. In theory. Whatever comes out of the SFC has to merged with another Senate health insurance reform bill that came out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee months ago. Only then will it be voted on by the full Senate. That committee voted out a bill with a public option, so if the powers that be want a public option in the final Senate bill, all they have to do is put it there. Or a revised public option with an opt-out could be proposed via amendment once the bill reaches the Senate floor.
Q. Who are the powers that be?
A. Reid, the Senator Majority Leader, Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Harkin, Chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, and someone from the White House representing the administration.
Q. So will a bill with a public option pass the Senate?
A. You'd have to be sick to make such a prediction.