Warning: Dramamine required. House Democrats insisted today that the “public option” (read, socialized medicine) is an essential part of Obamacare. Notes Bloomberg:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said a health-care overhaul should include a government-run insurance program, reiterating her backing for the plan after an administration official suggested the president may back down.“There is strong support in the House for a public option,” Pelosi, of California, said in a statement. “A public option is the best option to lower costs, improve the quality of health care, ensure choice and expand coverage.”Other Democrats called on President Barack Obama to stand by his commitment to create the new government plan to compete with private companies, saying they wouldn’t be able to support any health-reform measure that lacked a public option. Representative Maxine Waters of California said she was “very troubled to hear that after months of negotiations, supposedly moving toward meaningful health-care reform, the public option may in fact be off the table.”
Republicans and some Democrats oppose the creation of a federal health-care plan, saying it would undercut private insurers and expand the government’s role too much. Lawmakers have fielded questions on the topic from constituents at town- hall meetings throughout the nation during their August recess. The health overhaul measures approved by three House committees and one Senate panel include a government-run health plan.
