Here are the FDL Action health care highlights for Thursday, October 22.1. Jon Walker reports that Senator Reid and the White House appear to be leaning towards a public option with an opt-out. Depending on the exact details of the opt-out, Walker writes that "only a few states might opt out, or over half the people in this country might be denied access to the public option." In other words, the devil's in the details as is usually the case with complex legislation.
2. Jane Hamsher agrees with Nate Silver that one of the top reasons why the public option has made it this far is - as Silver puts it - the "tireless, and occasionally tiresome, advocacy on behalf of liberal bloggers and interest groups for the public option." Jane Hamsher also agrees with a point made by a commenter on Nate Silver's blog, that Democrats "now realize that almost no matter what they chose to do conservatives will be in angry up rise against them," so now "the strategy has shifted to how do they energize progressives without pissing off moderates." Fortunately for all of us, that means a public option.
3. Jane Hamsher informs everyone that "you can start calling progressive Nevada Democrats now and ask them to contact Harry Reid and tell him to put a public option in the final Senate bill." Hamsher points out that this is "the first phone bank effort of its kind in the progressive blogosphere that I’m aware of." Very cool!
4. Jon Walker writes about an "important but overlooked" issue, that the "lack of robust risk adjustment mechanisms on the [health insurance] exchange... could make quality health insurance impossible." Once again, the devil's...well, you know the rest. Ha.
5. Jon Walker criticizes Ezra Klein, who "really thinks health care exchanges will work at driving down cost despite there being little to no evidence to back up his theory." Now, Walker writes, Klein "may have finally had his blind faith in the power of exchanges without a public option to reduce cost shaken." Is that like when a Republican realizes that trickle-down economics never trickles down. Oh wait, that's right, a Republican never would realize that, let alone admit it. Next item. :)
6. David Dayen has more details on Senator Reid’s "doc fix debacle and where the public option stands in both chambers." According to Dayen, this whole thing is "basically just a game," as "all of these politicians will run back to their districts and tell people that they saved doctor’s livelihoods and hospitals and access to health care." Ah, politicians, god love 'em.
7. David Dayen writes that "the health insurance industry is now in full anti-reform mode." Fortunately, Dayen believes the industry "has been their own worst enemy" and that there's not much to worry about. I hope he's right; I'm still traumatized from Harry and Louise back in 1993/1994.
