Obamacare: The Wheels Begin to Fall Off the Wagon— “Public Option” May Go

The “public option” aspect of Obamacare—the provision that would likely result eventually in a socialized health care financing system—may be about to be abandoned.  From the story:

Bowing to Republican pressure and an uneasy public, President Barack Obama’s administration signaled Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new health care system. Facing mounting opposition to the overhaul, administration officials left open the chance for a compromise with Republicans that would include health insurance cooperatives instead of a government-run plan. Such a concession probably would enrage Obama’s liberal supporters but could deliver a much-needed victory on a top domestic priority opposed by GOP lawmakers.

We’ll have to see what the cooperative idea looks like before commenting.  But even if that idea flies, there is still more to do: The centralized cost control panels must go to ensure that no formal rationing plan is ever adopted.  Funding for matters that are not basic to health care—such as home visits to families with young children—must go.  The end of life counseling provision, if it stays, must be specified as purely voluntary for both provider and patient, and not outcome directed. The plan needs to be simplified, simplified, simplified.

But this is a good start. Maybe now that he has a political black eye, the president will be more flexible.