Legal Commentary

The Return Of The Blue State Public Option

By Big Tent Democrat

A good news post from Ezra, reporting by Politico:

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) is quietly talking with the Senate Democratic leadership and Finance Committee members about an alternative to both the government insurance option and the nonprofit insurance cooperative. In a one-page document he began circulating last week, Carper suggests giving states the option of creating a competitor to private insurers, which could include a government plan, a network of co-ops, or a large purchasing pool modeled after the revered Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan.

So long as states can band together, this could work. In fact, we can make this "Federalist Option" robust (Medicare +5) and open to everyone in the participating states. Imagine California, New York, Illinois, etc. banding together in a robust public option open to everyone. This works for me. Let Blanche Lincoln explain to Arkansans why they do not have that option. No interloping please.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 30, 2009 (boomark / email).