While i was tossing and turning last night, for some reason i had a breakthrough in what i would do if I had to make a call on whether to compromise out the public option and also my promises to a lot of voters who wanted "Change" or settle for less just to get something done.
Here it is:
The President should combine the individual and employer mandate with the public option legislation. The only way the for profit insurance will have a chance to enroll 40+ million people is if there is a public option available to make them compete. One is not acceptable without the other. If it passes, great--if not, no one has to sign up for something they can't afford.
The no pre-existing conditions type legislation should be voted on separately and i dare the Republicans to filibuster it. I would rather have emergency room care if there were no public option, it's that IMPORTANT!
I know this is threading the needle, he should not force the American people to buy health insurance and penalize them if they don't if there is no umpire in the game (government public option). Just voicing my opinion i hope the President is already ahead of me on this.