Ben Nelson Plans To Oppose Public Health Plan

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said Friday that he will oppose legislation that would give people the option of a public health insurance plan. The move puts him on the opposite side of two-thirds of Americans.

A poll released this week by Consumer Reports National Research Center showed that 66 percent of Americans back the creation of a public health plan that would compete with private plans. Nelson, in comments made to CQ, joins the 16 percent of poll respondents who said they oppose the plan.

Nelson's problem, he told CQ, is that the public plan would be too attractive and would hurt the private insurance plans. "At the end of the day, the public plan wins the game," Nelson said. Including a public option in a health plan, he said, was a "deal breaker."

A Nelson spokesman didn't return a call for comment.

As he so often does, Nelson said, according to CQ, that he planned to form a "coalition of like-minded centrists opposed to the creation of a public plan, as a counterweight to Democrats pushing for it."

That coalition will not include 16 Democratic senators who signed a letter calling for a public plan earlier this week, including Senate leaders Dick Durbin (Ill.) and Charles Schumer (N.Y.).

If Democrats use the reconciliation process to pass health care reform, however, Nelson's vote would not be needed, as only a simple majority could pass the legislation.

Ryan Grim is the author of the forthcoming book This Is Your Country On Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America

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Comments

[theMightyT]

andy5555 See Profile I'm a Fan of andy5555 permalink
I don't doubt the dental service is top notch in other countries but lets be honest would you leave America if you were having a brain tumor removed????I highly doubt it.

==========

Health care service in Canada is every bit as good - if not better - than in America.

My nephew has spent the first 32 days of his life in hospital. He's one of 3 kids in the entire world who have his condition (actually it's 2 conditions). There are 2 facilities in the entire world equipped to deal with what he's got.

One of them is in the States.

The other is in my home town of London, Ontario.

He's going to be in medical books; he's had 2 surgeries already at one month old and he's looking at a liver transplant within a couple of years at the most.

Guess how much all of this top-notch care is costing his family?

Absolutely nothing.

No health bills to worry about, and top-flight care for their newborn son.

If Canada can do it, why can't America?

[longtalldrink]

...yeah America, why can't we?

[balickistan]

good luck to him and your family. my fingers are crossed for the wee man. i hope for a good outcome for your little one.

[sueinmn]

GREED

[rextrek]

Like sueinmn says: GREED GREED GREED GREED GREED GREED GREED.......America is about the almighty dollar....period! Its not this idealistic wonderful place we Constantly hear about......it's about $$$$$$$$$ The poor,who are they...letm die.....over 75million spent on Prop 8 in Cal...in 2008 - while over 40K people are homeless in La...and on LA's Skid row.....hmm I wonder where that 75 million could have went? Its all about Power and Money..bottom line!

[Harmony1812]

Because we all have to share our money with insurance companies and Big Pharma.

[bayarea000]

progressives need to put the pressure on nelson. enough of this independence. where were they all with BUSH???? all of a sudden they are courageous. as for finding great health care only in the united states......... that's just not true. people who say that are flat wrong. and yes people do go to other countries for medical treatment from the US. it's time for americans to start learning and listening to how things are done in "oh my god, foreign countries".

[CR46]

If we took away Senator Nelsons healthcare plan and the plan of every senator and congressman we would have a working national healthcare system in weeks!!

[longtalldrink]

Yup, in weeks... also if men had babies, there would be no "abortion issues." Sorry, but abortion does come under healthcare. Oh and by the way, I am for PLANNED parenthood, not abortion as a form of birth control.

[Gidster]

Most people are. Longtall,
I would prefer to see all women of child bearing age to be taught about her body, contraception, family planning and abortion with all of their risk factors and benefits explained.

Smart informed teenagers make better choices.

[Harmony1812]

No one is FOR abortion although some people would try to say that.

[maudefrickert]

"public plan would be too attractive and would hurt the private insurance plans."

Ah... sheer poetry.

[sueinmn]

They all have tax payer healthcare and retirement. What do we get?

The shaft!

[Gidster]

The bill.

[skyeapril]

Exactly!

[JTCan]

Let's hope they use the reconciliation process. It is past time to get this done.

[tsesee]

Isn't it interesting that he has had a public health plan for the last eighteen years, but he doesn't feel that others who need it should be allowed to have it.

[kmich718]

Interesting? No.. Pathetic, YES!

[andy5555]

First of all, i am an independent and I never said the health care system was perfect. It needs changes. I am a survivor of cancer who received excellent health care and am thankful every day for it. My doctors have always told me this treatment is available only in America. I don't doubt the dental service is top notch in other countries but lets be honest would you leave America if you were having a brain tumor removed????I highly doubt it. Our health care is the best. We need to do a better job with cost and coverage but that does not mean socialize it. Also I am an atheist, hated Bush and do not condone torture or "enhanced interrogation". Bush was no conservative either, fiscally him and Obama are very similar.

[sueinmn]

Do you realize many people do not have healthcare? Many people work part time BECAUSE employers refuse to offer it! 32 hours and less and they have legally been able to avoid offering and if they do offer it, you can't afford it!

Yes you are lucky you have a good plan. Many employed are not so lucky! Those on medical assistance receive something. Its the poor underemployed working saps get screwed!

[andy5555]

Your point is well taken. The fact of the matter your complaint on health care would be an issue handled by the FDA which is a government entity. I completely agree that things like this can happen when the government is handling things. Again, I agree there should be changes made to the current private health care system but to think that this country can afford socialized health care is crazy.

[Harmony1812]

If you have medicaid the only dental that is covered is to have your tooth PULLED. That is why you see so many poor people with missing teeth. I also believe that you only can get ONE set of dentures. I have heard stories about people having their dentures stolen. Also mental health care is not covered adaquetly by insurance companies so if you develop a long term mental illness (and depression can be) you better get used to Medicaid.

[TheIndependenceParty]

Andy, I'm glad you received good healthcare, and that you recovered from your cancer. Your doctor practices here, and in all likelihood has never practiced overseas. He sells his services here, and knows the US. His word means nothing beyond our shores, ... sorry!

I've worked for nearly 40 years in healthcare in the US, and overseas. In Austria, Germany and Singapore, ... they are ahead of us in so many ways. American friends underwent orthopdic surgery and cardiac stent placement in Singapore, while I was working with them there. Thier out of pocket expense was a small fraction of what it would be here in the States, and their outcomes were excellent! The government hospital we worked with had the best equipped ICU I have ever seen anywhere, ... and the best IT system I have ever worked with, ... a specialty of mine for over 10 years.

Your claims that America has the best healthcare are simply wrong! It took us months to isolate the source of Salmonella in the food chain, to a pepper distributor in Texas, a single source! That is pathetic! Reports are that the H1N1 Flu Virus may have links to livestock practices here in the US. Something like 35 % of cases are based here in the US. Our surveillance systems for infectious disease failed us, Andy! I know, ... my degree is in microbiology.

Travel, study, learn, ... but don't sit here in America and spout propaganda as if it were truth,

[balickistan]

ouch.

[Harmony1812]

Our system sucks except for the insurance companies and Pharma. Don't think our medicine is better than other countries either.

[theMightyT]

maybe your doctors are lying to you.

[losangelian1]

Other countries have public plans, but you can choose to purchase extra insurance that allows you more choices. All we want is the choice. A public plan would force private insurance to bring down costs to compete as well.

As a cancer survivor, you're monthly premiums must be through the roof. It's not right.

[Harmony1812]

Exactly!

[Gidster]

The WHO rates us at # 39 for health care, that's is definitely not the best.

[jmnd39]

Sen. Nelson is a conservative Democrat; while he believes mostly with the ideals of the democrats, he does not always vote lock step with party lines. It's good to have both liberal and conservative voices in one party. For people decrying that Senator Nelson should be kicked out of the party because of his viewpoints, that Democrats need to be the party of Liberals and that Conservatism is solely the domain of the GOP, ask yourself what makes that statement any different than the civil war happening inside the Republican ranks right now?

Democrats need conservatives in their party as much as Republicans need Liberals in theirs; although it's true that one party leans more to the left and one more to the right, it is the fact that each is not completely polarized that keeps the country from hitting a complete gridlock any time legislation is introduced.
Conceivably, the majority of his constituents do not agree with an option of a public plan, which is fine; if Nebraska holds a more conservative, but democratic standpoint, then he should vote that way. However, those sizable campaign contributions from the Health insurance industry don't leave a good taste in people's mouths.

If Senator Nelson introduces some legislation that addresses and corrects health care, that makes a public option look silly, there will be bipartisan support for the bill. If he does not have any ideas, then hopefully budget reconciliation will take care of his opposition for the coming health care reforms.

[IAMGeorgeBailey]

Respectfully, I don't believe that this situation is about conservative and liberal; it's about right and wrong. Nelson is acting in agency for the insurance and pharmaceutical industries (from whom he's received millions over the years). And that's wrong.

[balickistan]

agreed. if it were a philosophic argument, then i would see it differently. before nelson became a senator, he actually sold insurance, so for an unbiased, logical look at the industry, sorry, but i will look elsewhere. nelson is knee deep in blood, by his monetary connections.

[skyeapril]

Exactly. I think you nailed it.

[diogeron]

I just hope he has the integrity to vote for cloture on Dawn Johnsen's nomination and give her the up or down vote she deserves. There is room for disagreement in the Democratic Party, but he''s pushed my patience on that issue, not to mention the one at hand.

[grumbles]

Time for you to go Ben. I hear Jeb Bush and his traveling circus need help..........why not sign on with them?

[dessertsfirst]

Not a good plan, Ben Nelson... tsk tsk tsk. Don't you know that America needs Public Health or preventive medicine. As my ole pappy used ta say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So, you better join the cause, or get the heck out of the democratic party. We the people voted for President Obama to get this country back on track. You may get the message from the people the next time you run for election.

[mizerello]

Until our representatives in congress are forced out into the vaunted marketplace and asked to pay for and find their own insurance, we will never reach the point where affordable health care is available to everyone. After all, our representatives have the best insurance our tax dollars can buy and they receive hundreds of thousands of dollars each quarter from the health care industry. The 47 million uninsured number doesn't even come close to the true number of uninsured or under insured in this country. And, to those conservatives out there who love to suggest that we have the best medical care in the world--I'd like to see you try to buy your own insurance; first, be prepared to pay at least $600 a month and that's if you have a big deductible like $500 + $3000 in "co-insurance" fees which is really just an addition to your deductible. That's if you can even find an insurance company to insure you because if you're not 21 and in perfect health, you're out of luck. And, for Sen. Nelson's info., more and more American companies no longer insure their workers. Most of them stopped insuring families 5 years ago. But I forgot--Nelson is part of the ruling class. Those of us at the bottom need to stop complaining and just eat cake.

[theMightyT]

i have never in my life here in Canada heard anyone say "let's make our health care system more like the American one".

I wonder why?

Maybe we're all just used to e.v.i.l, e.v.i.l socialism here.

[mizerello]

Well said. Several years ago on a vacation to Vancouver, BC, my mother collapsed in a store. Within minutes EMT's arrived and she was taken to the hospital. She had suffered a heart attack and was cared for more quickly in Canada than she had ever been taken care of in the U.S. They were professional, kind and sent her home in better shape. Her family doctor said they had saved her life. As far as those Americans who love to talk about how long Canadians have to wait for things like hip replacement and knee surgeries etc., you must have great insurance because I've been waiting for more than 3 months for a hysterectomy. It took my "wonderful" doctors 7 weeks to misdiagnose and then diagnose (after I ended up in the ER) my problem. I've now waited in great pain for more than 6 weeks for a GYN who's approved by my insurance. If you're part of Congress or rich, you probably do have great insurance. The majority of us however have medical care on a par with the former Soviet Union.

[bayarea000]

here! here! we are just STUPID with our resistance to listen and learn from other countries. much to our detriment!!!

[RLMcKee]

On what planet would Ben Nelson be considered a Democrat? Sure not THIS one.