Some talk about the possibility of a public option in new legislation now in Congress.

[Stinky The Clown]

Does anyone else think this is a real, viable possibility or just some hot air people are shooting out of their asses.

I see it at best as wishful thinking. At worst, I am sufficiently cynical to think they might put out some completely worthless limited scope plan that will essentially do nothing and call it a "public option" since the very term has no real definition.

[DrDan]

1. I share your cynicism . . . I vote for 'hot air'

[leftygolfer]

2. It WILL happen

maybe not short term, but i'm sure it will happen before president obama's 2nd term.

[zipplewrath]

4. Go to Vegas

I'm sure they'll let ya bet on that. But you might want to be careful in your wording. "Before President Obama's 2nd term" is less than 3 years away.

I don't think it will happen in my life time.

[DJ13]

3. An old Carney trick

String the rubes as long as possible until you've taken them for all they're worth.

[bigtree]

5. yeah, eliminating pre-existing condition discrimination was just talk for years

Now it's law. Politics is like that.

[DJ13]

6. Were not talking about pre-existing conditions in this thread

Try to keep up, okay?

[bigtree]

10. short-sightedness

Things take time in politics. It doesn't help to promote cynicism.

[kestrel91316]

7. I think it's premature. We need to see how THIS law pans out, what its flaws are,

let people get angry about those flaws, and THEN we will have abundant support for SP itself.

The nonprofit options that are going to become available under THIS law are close enough to a PO as to be virtually the same thing, right? If I am dead wrong, somebody explain to me.

[dflprincess]

9. Besides the flaw of leaving the for profit insurers in charge of actual access care? (n/t)

[kestrel91316]

11. That's my point. If they deny much in the way of care NOW, it will be the kiss of death

for medical "insurance" and the groundswell of demand for SP will be unstoppable.

People will blame the INSURANCE COMPANIES for lack of care. It has been set up that they will have to take all the blame.

[Stinky The Clown]

12. "If we can just win the House or the Senate ........ "

"...... we can control the committees, get hearings, and have Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice in leg irons."

I'm sorry. Some of us have good cause to be both skeptical and cynical.

[dflprincess]

14. No they won't - they'll blame the Democrats who passed this scam

Nearly everyone already hates the insurance companies and the Democrats just dug them in deeper.

And the Republicans will make points because they didn't vote for it It won't matter that the Republicans had no ideas or interest in people getting access to care, all anyone will remember is that the Democrats pushed it.

[kestrel91316]

15. Well, with your ongoing HELP they just might. What do you plan to do to

to keep that from happening, dearie?

[Cant trust em]

8. Hot air.

It will be at least 10 years before there's enough political momentum to add something else to this last reform.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. At that point, many of us will be dead or completely impoverished by living in a high risk pool.....

...... just long enough to have our worldly possessions turned over to the Unsurance Companies, and with gleeful disdain from TPB.