Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

If Health Care Push Fails, Blame Dems

Public wants a public option; why do 'centrists' oppose it?

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 22, 2009 10:48 AM CDT

(Newser) – Now ought to be a good time to reform health care. With costs up and coverage down, polls show the public overwhelmingly favors change. Unfortunately, “a handful of Democratic senators are still determined to party like it’s 1993,” writes Paul Krugman of the New York Times. These so-called “centrists” want to kill the best reform idea: a public insurance option that drives down costs through competition.

Again, polls show the public favors that idea, and if the center is the position held by most Americans, these “centrists” are in right field. And they seem utterly incapable of explaining their opposition. Ben Nelson of Nebraska called it a “deal breaker” because private insurers wouldn’t be able to compete with it. Asks Krugman: “Um, isn’t the purpose of health care reform to protect American citizens, not insurance companies?”

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

President Barack Obama meets with Senate Democrats to discuss health care, Tuesday, June 2, 2009. From left are Max Baucus and Kent Conrad, both health care 'centrists.' (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Kent Conrad's utterly circular argument against the public option? It'll prevent the bill from getting votes from senators like him. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari/file)

Paul Krugman talks to a gathering in Princeton, after he was announced the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in economics Monday, Oct. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Honestly, I don’t know what these Democrats are trying to achieve. Yes, some of the balking senators receive large campaign contributions from the medical-industrial complex — but who in politics doesn’t? - Paul Krugman

Their role in the health care debate is purely that of spoilers who keep shouting the old slogans — Government-run health care! Socialism! Europe! — hoping that someone still cares. - Paul Krugman, on Republicans

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

The French Government Wants to Tone My Vagina (Slate)

Obama Photo on Facebook Helps Catch Drug Dealer (HuffPost)

Hottest Women to Ever Appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue (Bleacher Report)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 9 comments

freethemall

Jun 23, 2009 3:51 AM CDT

I fear what will happen is what happened 1994. The ignorant people blamed those who fought hardest for healthcare reform, for its failure to pass, and turned the congress over to the Republicans. In fact, Krugman is saying it will be the Democrats' fault. I get disgusted with Democrats sometimes, but the answer sure isn't to turn things over to the Republicans.

freethemall

Jun 23, 2009 3:38 AM CDT

You got that right, and nothing will change until the electorate stops letting itself be fooled by the minority who have a vested interest in the status quo.

Altoecko

Jun 23, 2009 2:47 AM CDT

Damnit again, there's no edit. *If anyone here in the states hasn't

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

Valentine's Day Role-Playing Goes Very Wrong

New York Times (Source Grid »)

Poll: 72% of public favors public health care option
ABC News

Consensus elusive in health care debate
CNN

5 keys to passing health care reform
Politico

health care • health insurance • universal health care • Democrat • health care reform • congressional Democrats • Paul Krugman • Ben Nelson • health insurers • insurance industry • public option

More Newser Stories

Health Reform Insured 2.5M Young People

Coverage up among 19- to 25-year-olds, now eligible for parents' insurance

(NEWSER) - Roughly 2.5 million people between the ages of 19 and 25 have gained health insurance since President Obama signed his health care reform bill, more than double the 1 million the White House had been expecting, according to a new administration analysis. The bump is almost entirely due to a provision in a law that allows young people to remain on their parents' coverage until age 26. More»

Book Scuttles Obama's Health Care Story

His mother had health insurance when she died, and it paid up

(NEWSER) - A recent book on President Obama’s mother undermines his oft-told story that his mother spent the final years of her life battling insurance companies over her medical bills. The book, by New York Times reporter Janny Scott, reveals that Ann Dunham actually had health insurance that readily paid her claims. She did have a dispute, but it was with her disability insurance, the Times reports. And Obama must have known that, because in one letter she turns the case over to “my son and attorney, Barack Obama.” More»

Stop Calling Sick People 'Consumers'

Market-based health care is sickening, Paul Krugman argues

(NEWSER) - Congressional Republicans took aim at the advisory board designed to reduce Medicare costs this week, arguing that what we really need is to make government health care “more responsive to consumer choice.” Which left Paul Krugman with one question: “How did it become normal, or for that matter even acceptable, to refer to medical patients as ‘consumers’?” he asks in the New York Times . We’re talking about receiving care like it’s no different than buying a car. “What has gone wrong with us?” More»

129M Americans Have Pre-Existing Conditions

Republican aide calls new report nothing but 'PR'

(NEWSER) - As the House prepares to consider a repeal of health care reform, the Obama administration has released a startling statistic: Up to 129 million non-elderly Americans have pre-existing health conditions. That means anywhere from one-fifth to one-half of people under age 65 in the US are at risk of being charged more, or rejected entirely, by insurance companies, the Washington Post reports. (The smaller figure represents the number of people whose conditions would make them ineligible; the larger number represents those who would be faced with higher charges or limited coverage.) More»

Major Health Care Reforms Kick in

Insurers now required to spend 80% of premiums on customers

(NEWSER) - A rule requiring health insurers to spend at least 80% of premiums on customers and a $2.5 billion tax on drug makers are among the health care reform provisions taking effect today. The new rules also plug the "doughnut hole" in Medicare drug benefits and provide free preventive services like cancer screenings to almost all Medicare beneficiaries, the Washington Post reports. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

If Health Care Push Fails, Blame Dems