Without a Care

The New York Times reports that health insurance reform has cleared an early committee hurdle. However, some politicians have declared the "public health insurance" option anathema--so, don't get too excited.

First, this:

"If you don’t have health insurance, this bill is for you,” said Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut...It guarantees that you’ll be able to find an insurance plan that works for you, including a public health insurance option if you want it.”

On the other hand:

Republicans on the panel, who voted unanimously against the measure, described the idea of a new public insurance option as a deal-breaker. They said they still hoped that a consensus bill would emerge from the Senate Finance Committee.

Related links:

• New York Times July 14, 2009. The new state budget in Massachusetts eliminates health care coverage for some 30,000 legal immigrants to help close a growing deficit, reversing progress toward universal coverage.

• The Health Care Blog promises "everything you wanted to know about the health care system. But were afraid to ask." No Country for Old Men, an excellent* article by Jeff Goldsmith lays out a case against the public option here. ("Excellent" does not mean you got it right. Sometimes it just means you tried hard.")

• At Real Clear Markets: "the number of uninsured has grown to an estimated 50 million people because of the recession. Even so, advocates in the halls of Congress are rarely the uninsured themselves."

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