Legal Commentary

Sen. Feingold: Won't Support Health Care Bill Without Public Option

By Jeralyn

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) released this statement today on the public option. A snippet:

A strong public option would ensure competition in the industry to provide the best, most affordable insurance for Americans and bring down the skyrocketing health care costs that are the biggest contributor to our long-term budget deficits. I am not interested in passing health care reform in name only. Without a public option, I don’t see how we will bring real change to a system that has made good health care a privilege for those who can afford it.”

Progressives keep ratcheting up the pressure. Via Firedoglake today: [More...]

For the better part of a year now, progressive members-- who would rather see a single payer system-- have been selling the public option to their constituents as a necessary compromise. Progressives, in exchange for compromising on single payer (and supporting the president's agenda), were supposed to be able to trust Leadership and the president not to compromise on the public option.

A move away from the public option is a breach of that trust....the White House needs to understand that, or they risk losing the support of the base.

So, if I understand, the best outcome is a single-payer system but there was no hope of that, so the public option (so long as it's a robust one) was a compromise. Taking away the public option leaves zilch and a bill not worth passing.

It's looking to me like the pressure for some kind of public option will succeed. We may be down to whether it's a sufficiently robust one. The devil's always in the details.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 18, 2009 (boomark / email).