Tom Harkin: Medicare buy-in "probably out"

[mcablue]

Talkingpointsmemo.com (5:46 PM, today): "Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) just told reporters as he entered a special meeting of the Senate Democratic caucus that a Medicare buy-in provision is probably out and tellingly praised the merits of the bill even with that provision stripped out, Evan McMorris-Santoro reports."

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/12/medicare_buy-in_dead.php?ref=fpblg

If Harkin is pessimistic so am I. Let's hope he's being overly pessimistic and we can get at least this buy-in thingy, now that we lost everything else.

[DrDan]

1. "merits of the bill" - what;'s left?

[mcablue]

2. Maybe Harkin has been pretending not to be a health insurance whore

The health industry itself once pretended to be behind health care reform. Now that it's crunch time we will know who was being a phony and who wasn't. If Harkin praises the merit of this bill without any of the progressive measures we wanted (Public option, buy-in, etc.) he's a phony.

[yurbud]

6. if there was going to be anything good in the final bill, what would be the value of trumpeting it?

So the insurance companies have a chance to bribe and coerce any pols who wandered off their reservation of graft? So their tools in the media could shoot it down?

Dems know they can't control how things are spun, so they have to be very careful with their strategery.

[damntexdem]

3. The only merit would be that it would be a bill that could go to conference committee.

But any worthwhile conference-committee plan would face the same Senate. If the Dems won't use reconciliation, they cannot pass any real reform. They would be killing their own majority in the process. It WOULD BE very possible for millions of former Democrats in the electorate to sit out 2010; and I would likely be one of them.

[KansDem]

4. That it's written in English?

:shrug:

[IndianaGreen]

5. Get ready for the big BOHICA!

And for those that will tell you what a great deal the health reform bill is without Medicar buy-in or a watered down public option.