A community-driven blog featuring news and commentary on local, state, and national politics.

Donate to CT Dems

Ads on My Left Nutmeg

Contact Info

To contact the site admin email ctblogger at ctblogger@yahoo.com

Resources

2007 Legislative "Heroes and Zeroes"

2007 "Worst Republicans In The State"

2007 "Worst Democrats In The State"

CT Congressional Delegation and the Progressive Agenda

CT Clean Elections Funding Explained

Federal Legislative Advocacy Toolkit

State Legislative Advocacy Toolkit

Lieberman Supported Public Option in 2004 and 2006

by: tparty

Wed Jul 01, 2009 at 14:35:37 PM EDT

Jed at DKosTV catches another quote from Joe Lieberman in October 2006, where he seems to have promised specific support for his version of a public option:

"I've been working on health insurance reform for more than a dozen years. ... I have offered a comprehensive program. Small business health insurance reform, plus something I call MediKids to cover all the children in America on a sliding fee basis up until the age of 25.
"MediChoice to allow anybody in our country to buy into a national insurance pool like the health insurance pool that we federal employees and Members of Congress have. Medical malpractice reform.
"It will cover 95% of those who are not covered now, and it will reduce the pressure on rising costs for all the millions of others."

"MediChoice" seems to be a Lieberman health care proposal going back to his 2004 presidential run, when he described it in a questionnaire as a public option, but one only available to certain types of workers:

"My plan will also enable all Americans who don't have access to affordable, conventional health insurance to buy into new MediChoice health insurance pools, modeled on the health care program for federal employees. The MediChoice pools will be open to all workers who currently fall through insurance cracks. This includes self-employed, part-time, seasonal and temporary workers. It also will give stay-at-home moms, early retirees over 55 and workers in small companies with less than 50 employees access to affordable health benefits."

Lieberman touted his own "public option" back when he was running in (and losing) Democratic primaries - first for President, then for Senate. But Lieberman now?

"One is I'm fearful that at a time when we're spending much too much money here in Washington, going much too deeply in debt that a public option on health care, no matter how you structure it, will end up costing the taxpayers money.
"Secondly, we don't need it. There's more than 350 companies, maybe more than that, selling health insurance. There's going to be a lot of competition for health insurance once universal health insurance comes."

Earlier: "Lieberman's 15-Year Record of Killing Health Care Reform"

tparty :: Lieberman Supported Public Option in 2004 and 2006

Tags: Joe Lieberman, Health Care, (All Tags)

Print Friendly View

Send As Email

Lieberman Supported Public Option in 2004 and 2006 | 6 comments

Quick aside (0.00 / 0)

Himes will be in Stamford doing a healthcare forum with SEIU tomorrow at noon.

–7.25 / –7.28

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/tw...

by: mattw @ Wed Jul 01, 2009 at 18:30:52 PM CDT

"There's going to be a lot of competition..." (0.00 / 0)

"...for health insurance once universal health insurance comes."

Competition among lobbying firms to see who gets the most influence on who gets the biggest slice of federal subsidies?

by: notcho @ Wed Jul 01, 2009 at 19:40:38 PM CDT

Mold (0.00 / 0)

is a magnet to Scum

"I am not a Blogger...But I play one on the internet."

by: tessa @ Wed Jul 01, 2009 at 21:48:35 PM CDT

Check where he got his money in 2006 (0.00 / 0)

from Open Secrets

Finance, insurance and real estate didn't pour money into his campaign so he could help them go out of business later.

by: Sue @ Thu Jul 02, 2009 at 07:29:28 AM CDT

AND furthermore, (0.00 / 0)

from Joe Sudbay of Americablog:

I hear the health care benefits for elected officials in Connecticut are pretty good. He lost his Senate seat in 1980, but quickly returned to public life by winning the state's Attorney General race in 1982. He served as AG til 1988 when he became a U.S. Senator. He's been a Senator since then. Based on his latest financial disclosure report, Lieberman is already getting a pension from the state of Connecticut.
So, for almost his entire adult life, taxpayers have been paying for Joe Lieberman's health care benefits. He's not worried about co-pays and limits or not being able to afford coverage. Like so many of his colleagues, including Mary Landrieu, Lieberman has no real world perspective. He's spoiled -- at our expense. So, it's easy for Lieberman to side with the insurance companies.
Oh, it probably doesn't hurt that Lieberman's wife, Hadassah, worked for awhile at Hill and Knowlton doing work on as "'senior counselor' in the firm's 'health care and pharmaceuticals practice.'" I'm sure that gave her great insight into how health insurance companies were screwing over their customers.
Joe Lieberman is loathsome for many reasons. But, the fact that he's living on publicly paid benefits while trying to prevent the rest of us from having a public option is pretty disgusting.

by: Sue @ Thu Jul 02, 2009 at 07:34:10 AM CDT

New Budget Estimate Of Public Plan Proves It Lowers Cost And Covers More Americans (0.00 / 0)

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/...

Without the public option:

A couple of weeks ago, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a preliminary score of the health care legislation under consideration in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. The bill was estimated to cost $1 trillion over 10 years, while reducing the number of uninsured by "only" one-third.

With the public option:

The plan carries a 10-year price tag of slightly over $600 billion, and would lead toward an estimated 97 percent of all Americans having coverage, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and Chris Dodd said in a letter to other members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Some are changing their minds:

The incoming president of the American Medical Association, Dr. J. James Rohack, said his organization now supports a public plan, after initially indicating its opposition. The AMA supports an "American model" that includes both "a private system and a public system, working together," he said.

because Connecticut voters count: http://www.CTVotersCount.org

by: BlastFromGlast @ Thu Jul 02, 2009 at 07:37:41 AM CDT