Here are the FDL Action health care highlights for Wednesday, October 21.1. Jon Walker reports that "Ben Nelson (D-NE) is using the Washington Post’s lies to make his case against a real public option." Well, ain't that just grand? Not.
2. In better news, Walker writes that "Colorado senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet are joining with their Governor, Bill Ritter, in asking for an up or down vote on the public option." Now that's more like it!
3. Walker reports on Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds' comments on the public option, that he would "certainly consider opting out" of one if he's elected governor. As Walker points out, this shoots "a giant hole in one of the main arguments for the public option opt-out 'compromise'", namely that no Republican governor "would be stupid enough to deny their constituents a public option that could save them thousands of dollars a year." Yet now we have a Democrat saying he might do just that. To put it mildly, that's not acceptable.
4. Walker reports that "[t]onight is a big night for the public option is both chambers," as Harry Reid "huddle[s] with Chris Dodd, Max Baucus, and several Obama aides" and Nancy Pelosi "plans to present her caucus with a full CBO score of the bill with the different variations on the public option." With all this going on, Walker predicts that "[t]he next few days could be definitive for the public option." In other words, it's crunch time, which means it's time for all of us to keep up the pressure!
5. Walker reports on a study by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which concludes that the "public option would on average have premiums 11 percent cheaper than private insurance and the public option would end up also making private insurance cheaper." Other than that, the public option is jut horrible! (snark)
6. Finally, Walker comments on a report in The Hill that "Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is looking very carefully at the public option opt-out 'compromise'". Given that Rockefeller has, to date, been "one of the strongest defenders of a real public option in the Senate," Walker find this to be a "disappointment." For more on this subject, see item #3 above.
