The bill fails to fulfill President Barack Obama's aim of creating a new government-run insurance plan — or option — to compete with the private market. It proposes instead a system of nonprofit member-owned cooperatives, somewhat akin to electric co-ops that exist in many places around the country. That was one of many concessions meant to win over Republicans.
Elections are supposed to matter. The democrats have a 60-40 advantage in the Senate, and yet the spineless Democrats cave in every way they can anyway.
The Republicans will not support it in any case.
AETNA INC (NYSE CONSL: AET)
Change ($): +0.80
Change (%): +2.67
6 comments:
Well reading that article leaves a lot to be desired. I may have to poke into the full text of the thing to get a handle on everything that's wrong with it.
There is a lot of good in there, but there is not enough to counteract what you mentioned in the Single Payer post below. But seeing as how Single Payer is something that will never pass, what's the best we can hope for?
More later when I get more time... maybe...
A true public option plan would help.
How much different is that from the planned private sector not for profit co-op they've got in the works?
Also, any idea why this thing is going to cost $85 billion a year for 10 years? Seems like it's mostly just regulations on existing programs.
Does it cost $85 billion a year to enforce all this? Or to set up the co-op?
As a Canadian I find it funny how most Americans are clinging to insurance companies that offer NOTHING to improving health. Simple paper pushing industry that manages to make huge profits.
Its pure genius from the insurance side.
A co-op is a large pool of people buying insurance.. so you have private insurance bid on it.. or parts of it. A group policy I guess. The idea is that the more people in the pool, the cheaper it is per-person...
And of course.. a profit for the insurance company(s).
The public option is basically the same thing but run by the government, like Medicare, which removes the profit.
I think the costs come from subsidizing the plans for low income Americans.. you know that wealth redistribution thing.. and from expanding Medicaid funding. Not positive about that though.
Aye seeing that the more I read. Re cost.
Still got a bit to cover and it's now happy hour so it'll have to wait for tomorrow. :)
Post a Comment