This from tomorrows Wall Street Journal,
"The goal is to have a means and a mechanism to keep the private insurers honest," he said in an interview. "The goal is non-negotiable; the path is" negotiable....
Mr. Emanuel said one of several ways to meet President Barack Obama's goals is a mechanism under which a public plan is introduced only if the marketplace fails to provide sufficient competition on its own. He noted that congressional Republicans crafted a similar trigger mechanism when they created a prescription-drug benefit for Medicare in 2003. In that case, private competition has been judged sufficient and the public option has never gone into effect.
Anyone remember why we didn't want a trigger to the Medicare bill ? For all the good it did us...
During a recent hearing when 3 major insurance co. CEOs testified that their companies would never agree to ending the practice known as Recission. Recession is the polite name they use when after collecting your ins. payments for yrs, as soon has you get really sick they refuse to pay the bills and dump you from their rolls with no where to go for coverage. That is the reason for the Public Option imho. Unless everyone agrees that that coverage is not only promised, it is provided no matter how sick you get or how much it costs then the Health Care Bill is worthless. The Public would never put up with it's own plan playing games like recission.
The only reason the Big Ins. Co.s are afraid of the Public Option is because it will force them to stop Recission because who in their right mind would choose a company with a policy of Recission over one barred from using recission ? They would lose some of those huge profits that have grown over 400% in recent years.
The hard work everyone has done to whip the votes would go for nothing if we allow Rahm and his buddies get in the way. Rahm appears to have some plans of his own.
On Monday, Mr. Emanuel said the trigger mechanism would also accomplish the White House's goals. Under this scenario, a public plan would kick in under certain circumstances when competition was judged to be lacking. Exactly what circumstances would trigger the option would have to be worked out.
I personally hope we all get behind Chuck Schumer recent statement.
Some Democrats pushing for a vigorous public plan say the trigger idea isn't good enough. Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) said in an interview, "If it's not there on day one, those of us who support a public option have a real problem with it." White House Open to Deal on Public Health Plan
A real problem is right. Of course we have to remember this is coming from the WSJ so a grain of salt may be needed.