Pelosicare Unveiled

Just as a side note – started reading this thing and wanted to see what the “public option” was finally defined as.  This is what I found…

In the Section titled “GENERAL DEFINITIONS”….

The term “public health insurance option” means the pubic health insurance option as provided under subtitle B of Title III.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

Here is what that section has to say about it…

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within the Health Choices Administration and under the direction of the Commissioner a Health Insurance Exchange in order to facilitate access of individuals and employers, through a transparent process, to a variety of choices of affordable, quality health insurance coverage, including a public health insurance option.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall specify the benefits to be made available under Exchange-participating health benefits plans during each plan year, consistent with subtitle C of title II and this section.

THESE PEOPLE REALLY NEED TO WORK ON THEIR USE OF THE WORD “GENERAL”

Essentially I gained nothing in an hour of looking at this thing to pin down exactly what the option is except that there will be three “options” available on the public exchange offering a variety of “options” for uninsured citizens to choose from.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a retooled health care overhaul plan Thursday intended to bridge differences among Democrats and open a history-making floor debate on extending health insurance to nearly all Americans.

Speaking on the West Front of the Capitol surrounded by Democratic lawmakers, Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House’s version of a health care reform bill will include a government-run insurance option and extend coverage to 36 million uninsured Americans.  She said the bill will lower patient costs and reduce the national deficit.

“The Affordable Health Care Act will ensure, again, affordability for the middle class, security for our seniors, and responsibility to our children,” Pelosi said, adding that the legislation puts a major emphasis on preventative care.

Pelosi wants to have the legislation on the floor next week — with a final vote before Veterans Day, Nov. 11 — which would give President Obama a bill to sign by year’s end, numerous Democratic officials said.

The bill would require nearly everyone by 2013 to sign up through their employer, a government program or a new kind of purchasing pool called an exchange. Tax credits would be available for most of those buying coverage through the exchange. They would have the option of picking a new government plan or private insurance.

During the transition years from 2010-2013, a temporary government program would help people turned down by private insurers because of medical problems, lawmakers said. After that, insurers no longer could refuse to provide coverage to the sick, nor could they charge more because of poor health of the insured.

The plan also calls for a significant expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health program for low-income people. And it would impose a requirement on employers to offer insurance to their workers or face penalties.

A concession to Democratic moderates appears to have cleared a path for Pelosi to move forward. Democratic leaders agreed to the moderates’ demand that the new government insurance plan must negotiate payment levels with hospitals and doctors, instead of imposing its rates, as liberal lawmakers would have preferred.

“This has always been a matter of trying to pull together 218 votes,” said Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., referring to the number needed to guarantee passage on the House floor. “There is growing confidence that we can pass it with strong Democratic support.”

The House package reflects many of Obama’s priorities, but plenty of work remains to be done before Congress can send him a bill to sign. The House bill differs markedly from legislation taking shape in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is trying to round up support among moderate Democrats for a modified government insurance option that states could opt out of.

Democratic leaders in the House still face disputes over prohibiting taxpayer money for abortions and health care for illegal immigrants, issues they hoped to resolve after the bill’s unveiling.