Olympia Snowe's trigger is a plan to kill the public health insurance option. Not kill it as in make it weaker, but kill it as in make absolutely sure it will never, ever come into existence.
Senator Snowe's trigger is literally a catch-22, defined by Wikipedia as "a set of rules, regulations, procedures, or situations which present the illusion of choice while preventing any real choice."
The legislative language says that a public option will be set up in a state in which health care is not affordable to 95% of the state's residents, but it defines affordability as after the new tax credits that are written into the bill to make health care affordable.
Let's break that down.
In Snowe's trigger amendment, if affordable coverage is not available for 95% of a state's residents, then you get a public option in that state. While there are issues with state-based public health insurance options, the catch-22 comes with Snowe's definition of affordability.
Affordable is defined as 13% of income. So, if there is no plan in the exchange that costs less than 13% of a person's income, we'd get a public health insurance option. But that calculation of what a plan costs is made after the government pays out subsidies or employers pay their share. And therein lies the catch-22.
Max Baucus's bill caps out-of-pocket costs for people buying insurance in the exchange at 12% of their income. Therefore, after you add in government subsidies, costs will legally always have to be below 12%. The insurance industry can raise their rates as much as they want and government will make up the difference. The trigger, if passed, will never trigger. Not ever.
(This opinion has historical weight - there is a trigger for prescription drugs in Medicare Part D. So far, after 6 years, it still hasn't been triggered. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical industry rakes in the profits and seniors get screwed - a Families USA report [pdf] showed that private drug prices were an average of 58% higher than prices the government could have obtained through a public option. The fact that this trigger was never triggered costs government and seniors hundreds of billions per year, money that goes straight into the pockets of private pharmaceutical companies.)
It's clear: No public health insurance option anywhere in the country will ever be created under Snowe's trigger amendment.
The trigger amendment isn't a fig leaf. It isn't even a co-op. It's a plan to kill the public health insurance option outright, and give taxpayer money straight to private insurance companies.
Why does Senator Snowe want to deny choice and competition to her constituents, something they want? Why would she rather bail out the private insurance companies?
In a poll conducted September 14th by Lake Research Partners of 400 likely voters in Maine (with a margin of error of 4.9%), a strong majority - 58% - favor the creation of a "a public health insurance option to compete with private insurance companies."
When asked if they favor or oppose "requiring everyone to buy and be covered by a private health insurance plan," 55% of Mainers are opposed. When asked if they favor or oppose "requiring everyone to buy and be covered by a health insurance plan, with a choice between a public option and private insurance plans," 55% favor.
If you ask Mainers if they should be required to buy private insurance, they're against it, but if you ask them if they should be required to buy insurance, with a choice of public or private, they're for it. The numbers exactly flip.
The poll numbers further comdemn Snowe's trigger. We asked people which statement below comes closer to their view:
- The public health insurance option should be a back-up; we should only offer it in case reforms to private health insurance companies don't result in making health care affordable for most people.
- Because people are going to be required to buy health insurance, we need to offer the choice of an affordable public health insurance option to provide competition so that people aren't at the mercy of private insurance companies.
By a 54% to 24% margin, Maine voters chose the 2nd statement.
It's clear the people of Maine understand that a trigger for a public health insurance option is not health care reform. They get the essential question: Will the private health insurance companies finally face competition, or will they keep their government-supported monopoly to continue screwing you over with skyrocketing rates and serial denial of care, subsidized with your taxpayer dollars.
94% of insurance markets in this country are not competitive. This has led to rising costs that squeeze families and business as the insurance companies rake in the profits. As Senator Chuck Schumer said, "Any reasonable criteria for triggering a public plan has already been met."
The private insurance market has failed, and we've given them enough second chances. The American people support a public health insurance option that's available on day one, not a bailout of the insurance industry. President Obama has said that a public health insurance option is his first choice to lower costs and increase competition. Senator Snowe should not stand in the way of the people of Maine or the rest of us for the sake of the insurance companies.
(also posted at the NOW! blog)
I'm proud to work for Health Care for America Now
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: www.twitter.com/j_ro
David Cay Johnston: GOP Favors Public Option for Property, Not People
The bias in favor of property over people should be ended with all deliberate speed by raising the standard for people to that of property. A public option would be one small step in that direction.
My politician never solved the problem I had with my provider overcharging me in Medicare Part D. He at least tried, whereas the republican said, "thanks for letting me know about your problem. write again sometime. I like to know what my constituents think. That was Voinovich the father of Medicare Part D.
She's useless excess senate baggage.
Why are they so afraid of a public option when its benefits are so obvious? They thought up of anything but a public option! So public option must be the best for people!
.......................................................... WHEN DOES THE GREED STOP ...........................................................
Let our Congressional leaders clearly understand that lack of a condition-free Public Option in any successful Health Care Reform legislation will have negative consequences in the upcoming election.
Health Care Reform is MEANINGLESS without a strong condition-free PUBLIC OPTION, with clear unrestricted path to SINGLE PAYER.
A Public Option must be administered by the Federal Government.
A Public Option must be available to anyone who wants it, starting Jan 1, 2010.
A Public Option must be available to anyone, irrespective of Pre-Existing Conditions
A Public Option must be available to anyone at affordable rates.
A Public Option must be available to anyone whether employed or not.
A Public Option must be available to anyone whether his/her employer offers it or not.
A Public Option must NOT have any conditions placed on it by any private or for-profit entities.
A Public Option must NOT restrict anyone from opting in or out of it.
A Public Option must NOT be restricted from evolving into Single Payer.
A Public Option, and ultimately Single Payer, must be fully financed from federal taxes.
A Public Option must be made mandatory for ALL government employees, including Congress.
Don't bother to pass anything that does not have A CLEAR CONDITION-FREE PUBLIC OPTION.
~~~~~~IT'S WHAT WE WANT ~~~~ IT'S WHAT WE NEED ~~~~ IT'S WHAT WE CAN AFFORD~~~~~
........................................... THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A PUBLIC OPTION .......................................
************************************************************************************************************
I don't see what you are getting at, I see corruption in my own party and want to fix it.
HCAN is discredited and not to be trusted. They had 45 million to fight for us, we are at the end of the road and I see nothing.
Also I don't appreciate how they ignore progressive groups, not approved by Rahm who are fighting their hearts out for a PO and good bill.
Who do I work for? The American people. You can catch me on Kos, on TYT and a number of other places.
The author is a direct employee for HCAN, the Rahm Emanuel controlled collective that is not allowed to run ads demaning the public option or against Blue Dogs or against Republicans.
I really hope MoveOn bolts from HCAN before Fox News asks "where did the 45 million go"
She was the lobbyists choice to kill the PO, either she kills it via a trigger with the dems (embaressing us to no end) or she teems up with her party and kills it in a louder fashion.
This is what Rahm wants, to please his lobbyist buddies, help us not let them get away with it.
Please donate to the ads running against Snowe through the weekend:
http://www.healthcarecantwait.com/
http://www.healthcarecantwait.com/
http://www.healthcarecantwait.com/
We have 75K raised so far, not sure why this piece and Mike Lux's mentions none of this.
As progressives we should do our best to help the groups fighting for us.
What we are seeing now is the special interests and many legislators running wild with no worry about us figuring it out.
If private insurance companies are going to be involved in taking government subsidies, there should be some mechanism in place to cap salaries and control profits by "We the People".
Or preferably, Medicare for All.