To PO it is

This past week has been a very busy week for our Senators and our Representatives as they come closer to introducing their health care reform bills to the floor. The topic of the week was of course the Public Option, which seems to be the most debated policy in congress and throughout America. But before you form an opinion on it, I will explain some background of this policy and explain its importance in the health care debate. Also I want to introduce the policies that each house is developing for the public option since it is important to understand what they are going to be fighting for.

The idea was first created before the 2008 elections when some health care experts started to promote this new idea of a public insurance pool that would be modeled after Medicare. It was seen as a better way to attract congress and constituents on a plan other than the single payer system that could provide for real progression in the health industry. Soon these experts started to meet with presidential candidates to introduce them to this new compromise that could convince and unite both single payer supporters and other more conservative liberals. Therefore when Obama became president and introduced his plans to pass health care reform this year, he decided to fully support the pubic option and strongly suggested it be included in the health care reform bill.

Now this brings us to the present…

After the heated debates this summer, the public option came out with some serious wounds. Yet the events of this summer did not completely destroy it and now we have assurance from both the Senate (as posted earlier this week) and now the House of Representatives that the public option will be present in their bills. In the Senate, Harry Reid officially announced on Monday that he will included the public option in the Senate bill with a clause allowing states to opt out of it. The reason for the opt out/opt in clause is to gain more support from moderate Democrats to support a health care bill with public option. Interesting….

On the other side of the capital, the House was motivated by the Senate’s decision and what a surprise they also added a public option to their health care bill. The House was first divided on what type of public option they preferred and decided on a less robust one. Instead of a program providing reimbursements to doctors based on the lower rates paid by Medicare (which is the more robust plan), the house announced that they had settled on a option that would negotiate rates with providers. Democrat leadership was pushing for a more robust plan but many rural representatives feared that their hospital and doctors would suffer from the plan.

Now since both the Senate and the House have officially announced their bills, the public option will be the center of the debate since many congressmen/women have pledged to not pass a bill with a public option. So stick around and enjoy as we see our congressmen/women go head to head on the congressional floor.

To PO or to not PO that is the question

The public option has had quite a ride in this health care reform roller coaster. The public option has been a preferred policy by both Democrats and the President. The President has strongly suggested it to be included in the health care reform bill but it has experienced some serious opposition mainly the GOP (of course) and some conservative Democrats. But just when you thought it was gone for good, there are some new developments on the public option coming from the Senate. Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, has recently proposed that the public option should be included in the bill but it will allow states to opt out of it if they wish to. That is an interesting twist to the health care reform debate. Currently the bill voted by the Senate Finance Committee does not include a public option but may be added once it reaches the Senate floor for debate. Why this sudden change to attempt to added it to the health care reform bill?? I would possibly blame it on the turn in public opinion which has increased from 55% to 61% in favor of the option. This turn of events has encouraged both House Representatives and Senators to bring up the issue again. In both houses, they are seeking to add a public option but what type of option? It is too early to tell but one thing most politicians are sure of, or at least those supporting the public option, that without a public option little reform will occur only time and further research will tell.