Today we heard that the Senate has included a public option. An admittedly anemic public option that allows states to opt-out even before it takes effect. In 2010, most of today’s Republican governorships will be up for re-election. Will the opt-out public option prove to be a boulder around the neck of Republicans running for office?
So far, it hasn’t been made clear how a state would opt out. If left in the Governor’s hands, could this make the Republican Governor a rare breed?
Earlier this year, then Governor Palin’s refusal of stimulus funds to weatherize homes in Alaska (the coldest state who's citizens had literally chosen between freezing or starving only months earlier) met severe criticism. Most saw it as an attempt to burnish her Republican creds. Will voters chance electing a Republican Governor who may opt out of the public option in a similar attempt to wrangle for the national spotlight?
Still not clear is who will pay the bills of the uninsured in states that opt out. This year, we (taxpayers) will pony up over 45 billion to cover the costs of the uninsured nationwide. The public option is intended to curb theses costs, will federal taxpayers be required to pay for a state’s (likely Republican) insistence in maintaining the status quo or their insurance company handlers?
Either way, I think we can expect the 2010 governor races to be financed by the health insurance industry like never before.