I'm praying that we get a strong public plan because I want to see those bastards brought to their knees! Oh, and since Feinstein says the moveon.org ads won't move her one whip, I'd like to see Californians move this old bitch right out of office!

And then Mike Allen of Politico on The Ed Show reported that Schumer and Snowe are working on a plan that would:

give the health insurance companies a "chance" to offer affordable and accessible insurance and then IF it didn't happen a public option would kick in or be legislated I don't know.

BULL FRIGGIN SHIT.

Second that Bullshit, Jan. The insurance companies will offer a watered-down plan that covers office visits or some such nonsense, then be "relieved" of their obligations and the triggers done away with after the whole thing is declared "a failure."

I can see now why Obama is pushing this so hard the first year of his term. He's going to have to nurture this thing over the next three (hopefully seven) years and make it a success. The Democrats aren't going to help, and unless this is a huge success, the Republicans will come along eventually and try to destroy it. We hear all the time that conservatives in Sweden, UK, France and Canada would not dream of ending or crippling their government healthcare system. Conservatives here are just mean enough, and stupid enough, to attack it outright. They wont flinch at the opportunity if they see any sort of weakness.

This has to turn out to be something that Americans will fight their representatives for, and a watered down maybe-kind-of-sort-of-if-the-insurance-companies-don't-do-better sort of plan will not do the trick.

I doubt if Blue Cross will offer to cover me for free while I am unemployed as a public option or medicaid type program would. And it gives zero choice to workers whose employers cover them-at big premiums. So where's the competition???

But the worst thing with this plan is who decides if the insurance companies are offering affordable FULL healthcare? Congress? State governors? Us? And how do we make it clear that they ARE NOT?

It's all just political crap.

This is spot on, Bob. You know how it works. St. Hank's Hospital in Bumblepork, MS negotiates with, and then contracts with one particular insurer, to be a part of their "network", which is really just all of that hospital's clinics, rehab facilities, Psyche clinics and pharmacies.

It's not just a monopoly for the insurers; it's a monopoly totally controlled by both insurers AND hospitals.

And heaven forbid should you go outside of that paradisaical "network". Coverage ends where "choice" begins. In other words, opponents of the Public Option, or even single-payer like to say that without insurance companies, your right to choose your doctor will be gone.

Reality shows that the only choices available are within that insurer's network, and that network usually only contains one hospital system, which could be miles away from where you live.