If it's true, this would be a great idea:
Say hello to "Medicare Part E" — as in, "Medicare for Everyone."
House Democrats are looking at re-branding the public health insurance option as Medicare, an established government healthcare program that is better known than the public option...
While much of the public is foggy on what a public option actually is, people understand Medicare. It also would place the new public option within the rubric of a familiar system rather than something new and unknown.
Supposedly House Democrats have been discussing dubbing the public option Medicare Part E since a caucus meeting last Thursday.
This would be a good move for a number of reasons. Medicare is a hugely popular program. It currently has 79 percent approval in the country, Also, most people understand what Medicare is, while many are still confused about what a public option means. Who can forget about that irate Medicare recipient railing at his rep to "Keep your government hands off my Medicare"?
Some Democrats are apparently against the idea because the public option, understood or not, is gaining majority support in the polls and they don't want to meddle with fixing something if it's not broken.
Publius mocks the dilemma a name-change like this would put Republicans in to criticize it:
Assuming this label catches on, I'm anxious to hear how GOP legislators will distinguish it from the "real" Medicare. "No, no, no. Medicare is much different. We love Medicare. The public option, however, is a threat. It will lead to a government-run, single-payer, socialized coverage system. That's much different than what Medicare does."
More important though, if they were to call the public option "Medicare Part E," they'd have a harder time artificially restricting people from joining it. The thing that makes Medicare such a broadly accepted program is that it's universally available rather than means tested. The public option should be the same.