Legal Commentary

BaucusCare Will Never Include Public Competition

By Big Tent Democrat

Time:

[O]ne place where Baucus does not appear to be so flexible is on the question of adding a government-run "public option" to the measure as an alternative for providing coverage to the uninsured.

Thus, if as Paul Krugman endorses, BaucusCare is the template for health care reform, what that means is that Democrats will enact a huge tax increase on the middle class with no real reform of the system.

Because that is what an individual mandate means. That is political suicide. If BaucusCare is the template, what must be removed is the mandate. Forget about health care "reform." Just expand Medicaid, provide subsidies and enact the meaningless unenforceable regulations that people seem to think will work. But forget about the rest of it.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 18, 2009 (boomark / email).