At the National Governors Association, President Obama just threw his weight behind a bi-partisan effort in the US Senate to allow states to innovate with health reform, including adopting a public insurance system or single payer health care system by 2013 instead of 2017.

At the National Governors Association, President Obama just threw his weight behind a bi-partisan effort in the US Senate to allow states to innovate with health reform, including adopting a public insurance system or single payer health care system by 2013 instead of 2017.

The governors embraced the state innovations waiver proposal, since conservative states want to weed back the federal health reform and states like California might like to push ahead with public insurance options or single payer health care systems.

The idea is to let states meet federal targets anyway they want to, rather than how the federal government prescribes, by 2013 rather than the current 2017 deadline.

This is one of Obama’s only moves left, and a smart one. It gives progressive reformers in California and elsewhere the ability to move forward on ambitious reform plans that can pass at the ballot box in 24 states but would never get the time of day in Washington.

Facing strong legal challenges to the individual mandate, Obama did the right thing by offering flexibility to states to meet targets for access and benefits in the Affordable Care Act.  He took a page from longtime labor leader Joe Hill: “Don’t Mourn, Organize.” He’s giving those of us who favor a public insurance option to the private insurance market an opportunity to move our states forward. We better take Joe Hill’s advice too and start organizing.

In my book The Progressive’s Guide To Raising Hell, I point out how the initiative process in 24 states and the District of Columbia are the best hope to get the type of health insurance reform that Obama promised in 2008.  Today’s announcement, if Republicans in Congress bite, lets us act on ambitious reform via ballot measure before 2014, the date mandatory insurance is set to take effect.  Game on.

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Posted by Jamie Court, author of The Progressive’s Guide to Raising Hell and President of Consumer Watchdog, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing an effective voice for taxpayers and consumers in an era when special interests dominate public discourse, government and politics. Visit us on Facebook and Twitter.

Here are the FDL Action health care reform highlights for Friday, December 18.

1. Jon Walker is concerned that Ben Nelson could get his way and gut “the single best remaining piece of reform, Medicaid expansion.” Walker concludes that “If using reconciliation is the only way to protect the Medicaid expansion, the decision to use it should be a no-brainer for every real Democrat.”

2. Jon Walker suggests that “if you are are going to tax ‘Cadillac’ plans, you need to index it to make sure it only ever taxes actual ‘Cadillac’ plans.” To accomplish this goal, Walker suggests “index[ing] the cap to roughly 165% of the average premium on the Federal employer health benefit (FEHB) exchange.”

3. Jane Hamsher points to a new poll indicating that 38% of Americans favor the individual mandate to buy insurance, while 51% oppose it. Hamsher adds, “When it appears in the ads of a Republican challenger who notes that the IRS will act as Aetna’s collection agency, I bet those numbers get dramatically worse.”

4. Jon Walker calls Ben Nelson’s latest idea – to make states “opt in” to health reform – “literally and completely insane.” C’mon, tell us how you really fell about Ben Nelon’s stupid idea, Jon. 🙂

5. Jon Walker writes that “Ezra Klein has a new, strange, and incorrect defense of the individual mandate in the Senate bill.” Walker argues that “[t]he argument that removing the individual mandate would price unemployed people, like the reader, out of the individual market is not true.”

6. Jane Hamsher discusses “the impoverished left/right dialectic that dominates the media coverage of politics, and its inadequacy when it comes to discussing the dynamics of the health care debate.” It’s a fascinating discussion; here’s a sampling. “With unemployment at 10%, the idea that you can pass a bill whose only merit is that ‘liberals hate it’ just because the media will eat it up and print your talking points in the process is so cynical and short-sighted it’s hard to comprehend anyone would pursue it. It reflects a total insensitivity to the rage that is brewing on the popular front, which is manifest in every single poll out there.”  Good stuff.

7. Jon Walker goes after Ezra Klein again, this time for “[doing] the discussion on health reform a big disservice by making false claims about what could, in fact, start a race to the bottom in the insurance market.”

8. Jon Walker argues that the fact there is a “hardship waiver,” as well as restrictions on undocumented immigrants to buy insurance on the new exchange (“even if they were willing to pay full price with no tax credits”) both “undercut arguments for an individual mandate.”

9. Finally, I’ve got a state blog roundup, including lots of discussion about “Liebercare,” “Loserman,” and Jane Hamsher taking “a corporate conman to the woodshed.”  

This was a fascinating, sometimes infuriating, occasionally highly entertaining week in health care reform. Next week promises to be more of the same.  Stay tuned!

Here are the FDL Action health care reform highlights for Thursday, December 17.

1. Jon Walker discusses “The Unholy Trilogy For Insurance Profits: Individual Mandate, Broad Age Rating, And Hardship Exemption.” According to Walker, “Forcing the young to buy coverage with huge government subsidies, but having a way to price the old out of the market, is in fact the health insurance companies’ dream.” Is that the way to keep them from running a 2009 version of “Harry and Louise,” to make their “dream” come true? Hmmmm.

2. Jane Hamsher reports on her MSNBC appearance this morning with Dylan Ratigan, at which time he made her argument for her, that “40 million new customers forced to buy your product with no competition and no regulatory body to oversee it is a pretty sweet deal.” For more, see item #1, above, on the “health insurance companies’ dream.”

3. Jon Walker continues his back-and-forth on whether or not to “kill the bill” with Nate Silver of 538.com. In this installment, Walker accuses Silver of responding to his answers, “but only to a straw man, crib notes version of my answers.” Who knew that dueling, wonky, blogger diaries on the intricate details of health care reform legislation could be so enthralling? 🙂

4. Speaking of exciting, I definitely recommend that you check out the heated exchange between Mary Landrieu and Howard Dean last night on Hardball. Jane Hamsher transcribes it, which is particularly cool given that it’s not easy to transcribe spittle flying around a TV studio. Heh.

5. Jon Walker responds to an article by Jonathan Cohn, which tries to “defend the individual mandate in this bill by claiming the Netherlands also has an individual mandate.” According to Walker, “The problem is the health care system produced by the Senate bill would be nothing at all like the health system in the Netherlands,” and he lays out exactly why that is the case.

6. Jon Walker reports that Ben Nelson “has rejected Harry Reid’s latest compromise on the abortion language,” and that Nelson “is trying to go for the full Stupak amendment.” Walker adds that “[w]e wouldn’t need to be worrying about Ben Nelson’s mountain of demands right now if they would just go with reconciliation.” So true.

7. Jon Walker rebuts one of the “better-sounding arguments for passing the Senate bill”, that “we can fix it later.” The problem with that argument, of course, is that Walker “can’t imagine there being a time anytime soon where the Democrats have more power.” Neither can anyone else, which is why they need to get as much done now as possible, on health care reform and on a whole host of other issues.  But they won’t get those things done if they keep letting John McCain’s Best Friend Forever pull a “Liebercare” on everything. Once again, if this hasn’t been stressed enough, it’s time to go to reconciliation and pass strong, progressive health care reform legislation now, not “later.”

8. Last but not least, do NOT miss Scarecrow’s post on the confrontation between Lanny Davis and Jane Hamsher on the Ed Show this evening. According to Scarecrow, “After just one round with Jane on the Ed Show, Lanny’s credibility was in need of a waaaambulance. He was last seen being wheeled out on Joe Lieberman’s gurney, on the way to the emergency ward.”  Ouch!

Here are the FDL Action health care reform highlights for Wednesday, December 16. We’ll call this the “Joe must go” edition.

1. Jon Walker writes about the “sad defeat of Dorgan’s drug re-importation amendment, which would have saved American consumers billions on their prescription drugs.”  Walker notes that “[a]llowing Americans to buy cheaper drugs from Canada or Europe was one of Obama’s campaign promise on health care,” and also that this is a “very popular, bipartisan idea that would actually help ‘bend the cost curve’ on our health care spending.” But now, it looks like it’s not going to happen, and that’s extremely unfortunate.

2. Jane Hamsher comments on the story that the White House is “very not pleased…with Dr. Dean speaking out about health care reform and this plan.”  The amazing thing is that the White House isn’t upset with Joe Lieberman for all the bad stuff he’s been doing, but is upset with Howard Dean for saying that we should scrap the current Senate bill, go to reconciliation and get a much stronger bill with public option, Medicare buy-in, etc.  It’s surreal.

3. Jane Hamsher reports on remarks by Sen. Russ Feingold, who said, “This bill appears to be legislation that the president wanted in the first place, so I don’t think focusing it on Lieberman really hits the truth.”

4. Jon Walker demolishes the “great big myth that reconciliation would not work for health care reform.” According to Walker, “That is pure nonsense,” as “reconciliation would still protect the guts of reform.” In addition, “provisions [not related to the budget] will only be removed if they fail to get 60 votes to wave the Byrd rule for those provisions.”  So why aren’t they doing this?

5. Jon Walker argues that the health care “bills could easily be redesigned to increase insurance coverage by roughly 30 million Americans at a fraction of the cost if we drop the massive giveaway to the insurance companies, and the individual mandate.” A new, revamped bill would contain “insurance market reforms,” “the House’s employer mandate and slightly increased small business tax credits,” “Medicaid expansion to 150%-200% FPL,” “Maintaining or expanding CHIP program,” and a “permanent COBRA expansion with subsidies.”  According to Walker, such a bill, “depending on design, should cover close to 30 million more Americans, and for less than a net cost of $500 billion” – “a fraction of the cost to the government (with a bill done through reconciliation), and without enriching the health insurance companies trying to kill real reform.”  Again, why aren’t they doing this?

6. Jon Walker writes that Bernie Sanders isn’t buying “the myth that reconciliation would not work for real health care reform.” Unfortunately, Harry Reid is buying it. Sigh.

7. Michael Whitney comments on “Jello Jay Rockefeller’s rant against Howard Dean on MSNBC this afternoon,” in which he asked, “So what do I do? do I take my football and run home and sulk?” Whitney’s punchline: “No, you’re going to kick it!”  Heh.

8. Jane Hamsher notes that Robert Gibbs never called Joe Lieberman “irrational,” as he essentially did about Howard Dean earlier today.

9. Jon Walker answer Nate Silver’s “20 questions for the ‘bill killers.'”

10. Jon Walker explains “How CBO Director Doug Elmendorf Wrote The Health Care Bill.”  In brief, Elmendorf put together a memo last May which “basically put the absolute limits on what Democrats would even attempt in health care reform.” According to Walker, “There is no real logic to it, he simply decided what he thought was enough regulation to make something part of the budget.” Somehow, given where we are right now, ending today’s health care update with the words “no real logic” seems highly appropriate.

Here are the FDL Action health care reform highlights for Tuesday, December 15. We’ll call this the “Joe must go” edition.

1. Jane Hamsher writes about the “manufactured outrage of Joe Lieberman” regarding criticism over “money paid to his wife Hadassah by the Susan B. Komen ‘Race for the Cure.'” Hamsher adds that “if Senator Lieberman is ‘deeply offended’ by the suggestion that his wife is a lobbyist, one has to wonder what he did for all those years when she was working for the biggest lobbying firms in Washington DC.”

2. Jon Walker comments angrily on the message from the White House that Democratic Senators should “do anything to pass a bill with the title of “health care reform,” even if that “health care reform…helps almost no one for four years, will not lower drug prices, will not slow down the out-of-control growth of health care costs, will make most Americans health insurance worse, will leave millions uninsured, provide no competition for the insurance companies, and not end medical bankruptcy in this country.”  Getting excited yet?

3. Jane Hamsher says it’s “time to hold progressives in Congress to their promise” to “do what they have repeatedly promised to do – vote against any bill that does not have a public option.” Hamsher urges everyone to “Call progressive members of Congress now and ask them if they intend to deliver on their promise to vote against this bill.”

4. Jon Walker argues that “Without the option of a government-run insurance entity or extremely tight regulations to guarantee everyone has access to quality, cost effective health insurance, an individual mandate is both immoral and bad policy.” Other than that, it totally rocks! (snark)

5. Michael Whitney asks for “help to run a TV ad in Nevada telling Harry Reid to be brave – or lose his seat.”. Specifically, the “ask” is for Reid to use reconciliation, to not allow Joe Lieberman to write the health care bill, and to “restore democracy to the country and the Senate.”

6. Jon Walker points out that “Joe Lieberman has never made a secret about his desire to bring down the public option,” and that “Harry Reid must have known this whole time that he would never get Joe Lieberman’s magical 60th vote on a bill with a public option.” The bottom line is that if “Reid had gone with reconciliation, Joe Lieberman would not be writing the bill as we speak.” So why didn’t he? Did he actually trust Joe Lieberman to do the right thing here? If so, all I can say is “wow, just wow.”

7. Jane Hamsher says she agrees with Howard Dean’s call to kill the Senate health care bill. Hamsher concludes: “If I wanted Joe Lieberman writing a health care bill, I would’ve voted for John McCain. Howard Dean is right. Kill LieberCare.”

8. Jon Walker notes that “While everyone has been fretting about Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson has remained an equally big hurdle to get 60 votes for cloture.” Believe it or not, even though Nelson “has already played a big role in removing the public option, preventing the bill from ending the anti-trust exemption for health insurance companies, and possibly killing the CLASS long term insurance program,” he also wants abortion language that “will likely end up one of the biggest rollbacks of women’s reproductive rights in a generation.” In short, with Democrats like these, who needs Republicans?

9. Jane Hamsher reports that even though Byron Dorgan “had the votes to pass his drug reimportation amendment, which would have saved the public over $100 billion and the government $19 billion,” it’s not going to happen because…you guessed it, “Joe Lieberman says it can’t be part of LieberCare!”  So here’s the bottom line choice for the White House and Harry Reid: either tell Joe Lieberman to take a hike and go to reconciliation, or pass a watered-down health care “reform” bill without its best, and also most popular, elements. I believe this is what’s known in the vernacular as a “no brainer,” but why does something tell me the great brains in Washington, DC won’t be able to figure it out? On second thought, maybe it’s not their brains as much as it’s their spines, specifically their willingness to stand up to bullies like Joe Lieberman?

Here are the FDL Action health care reform highlights for Friday, December 11.

1. Jon Walker says that the “‘Medicare buy-in’ idea might not really be Medicare at all, it might in fact be fake Medicare, one which “would lack almost all the benefits of Medicare.” Walker adds, “A Medicare buy-in program that does not actually allow people to fully buy into real Medicare is a farce.”

2. Jane Hamsher writes that Harry Reid, “who is solely responsible for crafting the bill that he introduced in the Senate, decided that there should be a limit on lifetime benefits.”  Meanwhile, “Reid is also manipulating procedure to keep the Dorgan drug reimportation amendment, which would save both the government and consumers hundreds of millions of dollars, from coming to a vote.” Hamsher wonders why “Reid never uses the powers he has against Joe Lieberman.”  

3. Jon Walker believes that, “For the past few days, Obama and Reid have rather publicly fought against bringing down America’s health care costs.”

4. Jane Hamsher writes a letter to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, calling on them to “ask Hadassah Lieberman to step down as a ‘Global Ambassador’ for the organization in light of the inherent conflict of interest her continued presence brings.” Hamsher invites everyone to sign a petition urging the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to do just that.

5. Jon Walker writes that Harry Reid has “quietly gutted one of the most important consumer protections in the bill, the ban on annual limits.”  Walker argues that by adding the “‘unreasonable’ qualifier {Reid} added is a loophole you can drive a school bus through.” Jane Hamsher adds that the Department of Health and Human Services knew about this and even has been “quietly promoting” it for a while now.

6. Jon Walker reports that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has concluded that the “new excise tax on employer-provided health insurance will result in most people getting worse health insurance from their employer, insurance that covers less.”  Walker adds that if “this excise tax is the core of the plan to ‘bend the cost curve,’ it is a failure.”

7. Jon Walker argues that the “reason Reid dropped the annual limit from the Senate bill was to make his bill appear cheaper in the CBO score, and make insurance premiums appear lower.” “Of course,” Walker points out, “eliminating the ban on annual caps makes a mockery of the entire idea of ‘insurance.'”

8. Finally, Jon Walker has highlights of CMS’ analysis of the Senate health care bill. Overall, Walker concludes, “the report is a mixed bag,” with “very slightly higher” national health expenditures in 2019, but on the other hand it “shows a bad bill can still greatly expand insurance coverage without noticeably increasing our national health care spending.” Ergo, Walker concludes, “Imagine what could be done with a good bill that is not full of massive corporate give aways.”