WASHINGTON — Bowing to Republican pressure and an uneasy public, President Barack Obama’s administration signaled Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new health care system. Facing mounting opposition to the overhaul, administration officials left open the chance for a compromise with Republicans that would include health insurance cooperatives instead of a government-run plan. Such a concession probably would enrage Obama’s liberal supporters but could deliver a much-needed victory on a top domestic priority opposed by GOP lawmakers. Officials from both political parties reached across the aisle in an effort to find compromises on proposals they left behind when they returned to their districts for an August recess. Obama had wanted the government to run a health insurance organization to help cover the nation’s almost 50 million uninsured, but didn’t include it as one of his core principles of reform. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that government alternative to private health insurance is ‘not the essential element’ of the administration’s health care overhaul. The White House would be open to co-ops, she said, a sign that Democrats want a compromise […]
Monday, August 17th, 2009
White House Appears Ready To Drop ‘Public Option’
Author: PHILIP ELLIOTT,
Source: The Associated Press
Publication Date: 16-Aug-09
Link: White House Appears Ready To Drop ‘Public Option’
Source: The Associated Press
Publication Date: 16-Aug-09
Link: White House Appears Ready To Drop ‘Public Option’
Stephan: If the government option is dropped we will not get real health care reform, just a metaphorical sorting of the deck chairs on the Titanic. And if that happens, I think the Obama administration, much as happened to the Clinton Administration will never recover its momentum.