Many Democrats opposed ObamaCare because they just don't like the "Public Option," a.k.a the Socialism. The fallacious assertion by Obama that the government will just be another competitor in the insurance market is so blatantly untrue that nearly everyone simply refers to the public option as the Trojan Horse that kills off private insurance altogether and lets the government take over health care.
So what now? It looks like Sen. Kent Conrad (D. ND) has an idea to allow private insurance co-ops to write insurance for their members to compete against traditional insurance companies. The president gave it a veiled thumbs-up, and some Democrats who oppose the public option (and frankly who could kill it) may be on board. The part that some Republicans like is that the government doesn't own them and doesn't run them (need to be careful of how it regulates them though).
Conrad's explanation about why co-ops may get bipartisan support.
Conrad's proposal got a nod from President Obama during an interview yesterday, and some Senate Republicans have expressed an openness to considering the plan in lieu of a public (or "government-run") option for consumers.
Conrad, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, defended the proposal as splitting the difference between Democrats and Republicans on healthcare reform.
"This is a model that works," he said. "It's not for profit; it provides additional competition to for-profit insurance companies."
"On the other hand, it's not government-run, government-controlled; it's membership-run and membership-controlled, and that's why it's appealing to Republican," Conrad added.
Here is Conrad discussing the co-ops starting at about the 4:00 mark.
If that is the sum total of the health care solution (don't bet the farm on it), it would be a loss for the president in his bid to nationalize health care. Which would be very good news indeed.
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