If healthcare reform dies this year, it dies for a good long time. Say what you will about the Democratic leadership, but Harry Reid, Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, Nancy Pelosi, and Steny Hoyer all know this perfectly well. So do John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. (Boy do they know it.)
And what happens to the uninsured during that good long time?
If you're pissed off at the president and Democratic leadership, fine. Have at it. But I don't think killing the bill will hurt them nearly as much as it will hurt hundreds of thousands of Americans who will die without affordable healthcare -- regardless of whether it's from the cartel or otherwise. Make no mistake, a public option and the Medicare Buy-in were extraordinarily important and I supported these measures as much as anyone. But killing the bill will absolutely not put us on track to pass either, much less anything resembling Medicare for All.
Speaking of public versus private, it's important to remember that in the OPM plan, no private insurers can take a profit on your premiums. Other plans will be forced by the Franken amendment to spend 90 percent of premiums on benefits, instead of spending it on annoying commercials and profit margins.