Comments on: Republican Bob Corker Floats Wyden-Bennett Health Care Idea? http://donklephant.com/2009/09/04/republican-bob-corker-floats-wyden-bennett-health-care-idea/ Big Teeth. Huge Ass. Surprisingly Reasonable. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:03:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Jim S http://donklephant.com/2009/09/04/republican-bob-corker-floats-wyden-bennett-health-care-idea/comment-page-1/#comment-547448 Jim S Sat, 05 Sep 2009 03:21:01 +0000 http://donklephant.com/?p=16811#comment-547448 I view the problem with not having a public option as being very simple. Pass all the regulations of the insurance industry that are necessary. Create a system that provides the necessary level of subsidies to those who cannot afford what the industry provides. Do all of the things the Wyden-Bennett proposal and all of those like them say we need to do. The end result? Think about the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the gutting of Glass-Steagal. How long after a pendulum swing allowing the Republicans and conservative Democrats to be the majority with a Bush-type Republican President to have power it would take for de-regulation to regain the upper hand and everything done in the name of reform to be undone? Not long at all. Which is probably the main reason to make reform something weak and easily undone. I view the problem with not having a public option as being very simple. Pass all the regulations of the insurance industry that are necessary. Create a system that provides the necessary level of subsidies to those who cannot afford what the industry provides. Do all of the things the Wyden-Bennett proposal and all of those like them say we need to do. The end result? Think about the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the gutting of Glass-Steagal. How long after a pendulum swing allowing the Republicans and conservative Democrats to be the majority with a Bush-type Republican President to have power it would take for de-regulation to regain the upper hand and everything done in the name of reform to be undone? Not long at all. Which is probably the main reason to make reform something weak and easily undone.

]]> By: Nick Benjamin http://donklephant.com/2009/09/04/republican-bob-corker-floats-wyden-bennett-health-care-idea/comment-page-1/#comment-546909 Nick Benjamin Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:28:16 +0000 http://donklephant.com/?p=16811#comment-546909 The difficulty with your analysis of the independent vote is that polls show a plurality of independents LIKE the public option. They don't want it to be mandatory, and they don't want it to be a strong public option; but they like the idea of having another option. As far as I can tell nobody actually opposes the public option for policy reasons. If you want to protect the insurance companies from unfair competition making the public option extremely weak is actually the best plan. The co-opps make sense only if you are Kent Conrad and you want to be remembered as the father of health co-ops. Did Corker actually say he'd support Wyden-Bennett? That taxes all health plans, not just the most expensive ones. And to Republicans from TN that distinction is a big deal. The difficulty with your analysis of the independent vote is that polls show a plurality of independents LIKE the public option. They don’t want it to be mandatory, and they don’t want it to be a strong public option; but they like the idea of having another option.

As far as I can tell nobody actually opposes the public option for policy reasons. If you want to protect the insurance companies from unfair competition making the public option extremely weak is actually the best plan. The co-opps make sense only if you are Kent Conrad and you want to be remembered as the father of health co-ops.

Did Corker actually say he’d support Wyden-Bennett? That taxes all health plans, not just the most expensive ones. And to Republicans from TN that distinction is a big deal.

]]> By: Alistair http://donklephant.com/2009/09/04/republican-bob-corker-floats-wyden-bennett-health-care-idea/comment-page-1/#comment-546727 Alistair Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:42:04 +0000 http://donklephant.com/?p=16811#comment-546727 I like the Wyden-Bennett & Olympia Snowes Tigger Option but the problem, is he is facing resistance from the progressive left who are threatening that if it doesn't include a strong public option they will not back health care reform back by the Senate which is a bipartisan bill. Maybe House Progressive Democrats are calling their bluff but it sound very serious. So the new question is will the Progressive end up destroying the Health Care plan and risk alienating Morderates and Independence in 2010? I like the Wyden-Bennett & Olympia Snowes Tigger Option but the problem, is he is facing resistance from the progressive left who are threatening that if it doesn’t include a strong public option they will not back health care reform back by the Senate which is a bipartisan bill. Maybe House Progressive Democrats are calling their bluff but it sound very serious. So the new question is will the Progressive end up destroying the Health Care plan and risk alienating Morderates and Independence in 2010?

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