I'm watching State of the Union on CNN with a discussion of health care reform with Senators Debbie Stabenow, Kent Conrad, LAMAR! Alexander, and Judd Gregg. Senator Conrad is, once again, pushing his co-op idea. Follow me below the fold for a little more detail.
According to Senator Conrad, he feels that a public option might not pass the Senate so that's why he's come up with his co-op compromise. He referred to the AP and Land-o-Lakes as successful co-ops and feels that this compromise would be just as effective as a public plan in helping to reduce costs and keep the insurance companies honest. In addition, Senator Gregg is once again keeping up the meme that a public option is just a "stalking horse" for single payer.
On a personal note, the public option has become a lot more real as a need to me in the last couple of days. Before, I saw it in a theoretical sense, but not as something I would necessarily need. I was laid off on Tuesday, and now I know how vital it is that we have health insurance that isn't connected to our employment. It is absolutely vital, especially in today's economic climate with so many people losing their jobs.
I don't really have much else to add here, except to point out that Senator Conrad is making it patently obvious that we need to keep the pressure up on the Senate on the public option. We can't let the Finance committee derail a public option when we're getting so close to real, honest, and effective health care reform. Keep calling your Senators and get them to pledge to only support a plan that includes a strong public option without a trigger.
Update: Wow, those health care guys are fast with the ads.