Democrats consider setting 'trigger' for government healthcare

[ATP787]

Private insurers would have to meet benchmarks for improvement or face competition from a federal program. The idea could win over moderate Republican and wavering Democratic senators.
Reporting from Washington - Looking to break the logjam on healthcare legislation, the White House and Democrats in the Senate are increasingly placing their hopes on the idea of a "trigger" that, if set off, would allow the government to offer health insurance to many Americans.

Under a trigger, private insurance companies would be told to meet benchmarks for improving the health system, such as insuring more Americans and reducing healthcare costs. If they failed to do so by a certain deadline, the federal government would launch its own health insurance program.
The plan might win over moderate Republican and wavering Democratic senators, who do not want to give the government blanket authorization to enter the insurance market and compete with private companies. At the same time, President Obama could make the argument that he has not abandoned the prospect of a government-run plan, also called a "public option," which liberals contend is needed to inject competition into the insurance industry.

"This is the best shot we've got for getting a public option," said one House Democratic advisor, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. "It's better than nothing."The proposal has become a central point in negotiations between Obama's staff and Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, a moderate Republican.

If Snowe were to support a healthcare overhaul bill, she potentially could bring a patina of bipartisanship to the measure, providing political cover to other moderate Republicans and conservative Democrats who have withheld their support.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,2420157.story

[TigerTank77]

That is an awesome idea, I gotta say. That way if the excrement hits the oscillator, the people who should have been under fire all along will start to burn.

Figuratively of course.

[hecanandWILLchangeyou]

Yes, this is something I am actually willing to go for.