Health Care Harder Ball: You read it here first
Robert Waldmann
Tell reluctant senators and representatives that, if they think their constituents don’t want any public insurance except for medicare and medicaid, then they can refuse to have it.
Ezra Klein and Senator Maria Cantwell October 1 2009
EK Can they opt out?
MC States can opt out.
Senator Tom Carper too October 1 2009
Tom Carper’s proposal is more interesting. It’s gone through a couple twists in the past 24 hours (including the addition, and then welcome removal, of a trigger), but in its current form, each state would have the option to:
1) Participate as grantees in the CO-OP program and apply for seed funding.
2) Open up that state’s employee benefits plan.
3) Create a state administered health insurance plan with the option of banding together with other states to create a regional insurance compact.
Each state would, in other words, be allowed to create a public option
.