Nine Senate Democrats press Reid to expand public health insurance choice

[cal04]

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/65669-nine-senate-dems-press-reid-on-expanding-insurance-choice

Nine Democratic senators from across the party’s ideological spectrum are pushing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to make the government-run health insurance option available to workers with employer-based coverage.

But Reid is facing conflicting pressure from labor unions that strongly oppose the idea.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is the lead sponsor of the proposal to let workers with employer-based coverage sign up for a public option or other health plans that would be made available on insurance exchanges. These exchanges are designed to serve as clearinghouses for various health plans, but only Americans who do not receive health benefits from their employers would be eligible.

“We are concerned that under current proposals too many Americans will not be able to purchase insurance in the exchanges,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter dated Oct. 30.

[B Calm]

1. I'm with Wyden. . . The more people in the public option, the cheaper it

will be! Right now I'm stuck with the plan my employer provides and it sucks!

[cal04]

2. me too

because where I work the lower earners pay 40 % of their health insurance and the people that make 80
to $100, 000 only pay 15% . A lot of people had to go without paychecks just to pay for their health insurance

[B Calm]

3. Where my wife works salary people practically get their health care

insurance for free and hourly people have to pay out their ass for less coverage. The hourly people are paying for the salary workers!

[cal04]

4. the school I work in

the teachers are salaried and pay 15% and the Teacher aides are hourly and pay 40%

[damntexdem]

5. The CBO analysis provides ammunition for this push.

A PO open to few will have higher-cost enrollees, and will be less able to compete enough with private insurance to keep the latter's rates down.

As to union concerns, the fight should be to prevent taxing "Cadillac plans" -- unions can still negotiate over the terms of employer contributions and the benefits of private plans they include. If the benefits of private plans offered by employers are negotiated to be good, there should be no fear of worker enrollment in the PO; and in any case, unions can push for employers to pay for greater portions of the PO premiums.

[SpartanDem]

6. I'm a union supporter, but they are very wrong about this