Now that the Senate has firmly rejected the public option, President Obama is trying his darnedest to distance himself from the controversial, and failed, proposal. But that may be harder than he thought.
In an American Urban Radio interview yesterday, he said, "this is not the most important aspect of this bill." And today he told The Washington Post, "I didn't campaign on the public option."
But that's not true. In a campaign position paper on health care, Obama mentions the public plan eight times. The Obama-Biden campaign wrote:
Through the Exchange, any American will have the opportunity to enroll in the new public plan or an approved private plan, and income-based sliding scale tax credits will be provided for people and families who need it. Insurers would have to issue every applicant a policy and charge fair and stable premiums that will not depend upon health status. The Exchange will require that all the plans offered are at least as generous as the new public plan and meet the same standards for quality and efficiency. Insurers would be required to justify an above-average premium increase to the Exchange. (h/t: Think Progress)
Candidate Obama also signed on to the principles set down by the progressive group Health Care for America Now, the biggest proponent of a government-run plan. Those principles included support for a public option:
Everyone gets a choice of health insurance plans, including the right to keep your current insurance, choose another private plan or to join a public health insurance plan.
And while it's true that reform will include many of the reforms he ran on, it's not accurate for the president to claim he didn't run on passing a public option - Politico Story
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