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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > December > 11 > Entry
Editorial: Brown’s flexibility on public option is a good sign
Two headlines in different publications about the same event:
“Public option keeps toehold in Senate deal on health bill.”
“Democrats near agreement to give up public plan.”
You know it’s a compromise when people can’t agree on how to summarize it. U.S. Senate Democrats announced Tuesday night, Dec. 8, that five liberals and five moderates among them had reached an agreement about the public option. (Republicans are out of the picture; long story.)
Among the five liberals is Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a staunch supporter of the public option.
The term refers to a government-run insurance plan that would be made available basically to people who don’t have insurance at work. The idea is not only to provide those people a decent option, but to help bring down insurance costs generally by increasing competition.
It’s only one part of a historic overhaul of health insurance being pushed by President Barack Obama. With the Senate agreement, the Democrats’ death-defying run toward passage of the large bill continues for another day.
Sen. Brown didn’t commit flatly to the compromise. But he had good reason to like it.
The group of 10 embraced his long-held desire to expand Medicare to people under 55 who are willing to pay. That’s another kind of public option. (Truth is, to a lot of people, the best way to reform the American health system would be to extend Medicare to everybody.)
In lieu of the public option, the compromise would have private insurers provide government-negotiated policies for individuals. A public option would only kick in if the private insurers don’t deliver.
It’s good to see compromise happening and to see Sen. Brown participating. Though many of his supporters have long been wedded to the public option, his job is to make things happen, not to posture as the upholder of a cause.
The real liberal task at hand is getting many millions more people insured, which any version of the bill does, while trying to bring down costs.
Besides this excursion into compromise, Sen. Brown just took one into bipartisanship. Sort of.
Sen. Tom Coburn is the red-hot conservative from Oklahoma who says to seniors that if the Democrats’ health plan passes, “You’re gonna die sooner.”
That quote isn’t about the public option. But he’s against that, too. He proposed to require members of Congress to sign up for it if it’s created. His idea was apparently to embarrass the Democrats, showing their unwillingness to be covered by a plan they’re creating.
But, since they’re only proposing it as an option, it’s hard to see why they should be embarrassed.
At any rate, Sen. Brown immediately embraced the Coburn amendment, as did a few other Democrats. And, despite the inclusion of Sen. Al Franken among those few, nobody seemed to be kidding.
Sen. Brown long ago swore off taking the excellent health insurance plan that members of Congress get. He said he couldn’t justify that so long as tens of millions of Americans remained uninsured.
He was apparently looking forward to the public option as an improvement upon his coverage as the spouse of an employee of a newspaper up north.
So, when he compromised away the public option, you know he was doing serious work. Some might point out that he’d qualify for the Medicare buy-in. But, really, after all these years of sacrifice, he can hardly be accused of acting out of selfish economic concerns.
Permalink | Comments (30) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Health Care, National Politics, Ohio politics
Comments
By Anon
December 12, 2009 12:23 AM | Link to this
Just remember America, the first act of a socialist government is to control health care. This will ensure an early death to the older people that remember the country that used to be known for freedom and liberty, so we can give it over freely to those that will subjugate you just as Stalin, Hitler, and Mao did in their respective nations. And just think, you will surrender your freedom and liberty as willingly as you dismissed your history lessons that would have taught you how insidious this idea really is to our nation. Sad.
By bobby
December 12, 2009 12:29 AM | Link to this
” Truth is,to a lot of people”[ Dayton Daily News editorial staff]”the best way to reform the American health system would be to extend medicare to everybody.” Have you folks considered those who can not afford Medicare will receive Medicaid? There will be an unfunded mandate from the fed that the states must pay. I would like the “lot of people” to rethink their position or explain how the states will pay for the additional medicaid costs, without state income tax increases. Ohio is already burdened by an extraordinary medicaid cost.
By AMG
December 12, 2009 5:13 AM | Link to this
Why is Brown working on this garbage legislation when people in Ohio can’t find jobs? He needs to get his priorities straight. This is no time to propose a costly health care program, especially when the debt ceiling has almost been reached.
By Jane
December 12, 2009 7:33 AM | Link to this
Garbage legislation? Straight priorities? Then there is my friend, Sharlene, who worked hard all her life and could never afford health insurance. Maybe you should talk to her? Sorry, guess you can’t! She died of a very treatable kind of cancer because 1) no insurance, 2) couldn’t pay the doctor,3) couldn’t afford the medicine.
By Kurt
December 12, 2009 7:50 AM | Link to this
Hey Jane, the reason your friends health care was too expensive, was becasue of gov. intervention in the marketplace, why dont you move to North Korea, if you love communism so much?, and take Marty with you.
By Jane
December 12, 2009 9:05 AM | Link to this
Kurt-you don’t make much sense and your insinuation is insulting which I am sure you intended. I do believe that health care is a right that should be available and affordable to all. That makes me a caring person, not a member of some illogical political group. Please keep your insults to yourself!
By Bill
December 12, 2009 10:51 AM | Link to this
BECAUSE DDN CENSORS COMMENTS ON THE CRIME STORIES I MUST POST HERE. CHIEF BIEHL AND (LMS) SHERIFF PHIL PLUMMER SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR INACTION DEALING WITH THE VIOLENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY. BOTH TROTTED OUT IN FRONT OF THE CAMERAS NUMEROUS TIMES AND YOUR PAPER DID STORY AFTER STORY ABOUT “THEIR” PLANNED VIOLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAM. THE REAL QUESTION IS WHAT HAVE THESE TWO DONE TO “REALLY” EFFECTIVELY STOP THE VIOLENCE. MAYBE DDN SHOULD DO A STORY ON THEIR “B.S.” HEADLINE GRABBING PERSONA’S INSTEAD OF JUST FILLING SPACE. OUR COMMUNTY IS ON FIRE AND THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING IT OUT ARE DOING ZILCH!
By Davidss2
December 12, 2009 10:53 AM | Link to this
It sounds like a caring person would have seen that the friend who died went to the public treatment facilities that we provide and get treatment like everyone else is getting, free. Between medicaid and all the free services, she should have been treated. Ask anyone working at the hospitals, Miami Valley, e.g., where we have all kinds of people using 911 as a doctor visit taxi for regular office visits to the ER. Also the Miami Valley insists that increasing costs for Medical Mutual insurance care has to go up because their cost of treating unfunded patients increased 80% last year—so they want to charge the rest of the insurance payers to cover the cost of medical care for the indigent. Taht’s exactly what you’ll see with the gov’ment taking over healthcare. If you think Osama has done well with spending money on porkulus bills, you’ll love how they spend to “give” everyone all the “free” healthcare, but everyone working will be paying the bills and paying extra for gov’ment to do the running. Imagine how that will be used for campaign purposes: vote for me and I’ll give you more “free” healthcare coverage. It worked exactly that way for social security through the decades: politicians promised that they’d raise the payout on social security subsidy and eventually it because viewed as retirement entitlement rather than as “extra” payment to help along with people’s savings. Expect the same with gov’ment run healthcare.——————-As for Brown, he’s a joke. His wife is an editorial write for Plain Dealer, so he gets healthcare from her, therefore he can act so pious about not accepting healthcare plan from the House and Senate. I despise fakers.
By null
December 12, 2009 11:57 AM | Link to this
Brown is a moron.
By null
December 12, 2009 11:59 AM | Link to this
Brown is a moron. On his watch, congress and senate, Ohio has lost so many jobs and so much industry. What has he dine? Nothing.
By TRS
December 12, 2009 12:18 PM | Link to this
I wouldn’t get to excited about Brown’s “flexibility”. To coin the popular DC phrase right now, the Dems will do anything and everything to get their nose under the tent so they can lead us to total control of the system and single pay. Have you seen the most recent CMS (CMS being Medicare)? Dropping the Medicare age to 55 will add 200B to the deficit and between 10-20% of providers will either cease practice or taking Medicare because it does not reimburse enough for them to make a living. The Dems are taking dead aim at seniors.
By jane
December 12, 2009 1:08 PM | Link to this
Davidss2 - you are making a lot of baseless assumptions! My friend didn’t live in Dayton and never used 911 as a taxi service or the emergency room for a regular doctor visit! Did you bother to read AVAILABLE and AFFORDABLE? As for what her caring friend did—you not only don’t know nor do you really care. Save the sanctimonius drivel for someone else whose head is buried in the sand and pray that you always have the funds to pay for health care when you need it!
By Aronn Neihoff
December 12, 2009 1:20 PM | Link to this
This article would have you believe that the public option only represents a little ol govt. run program that kicks in if you don’t have ins. at work. Ha! It is a massive plan that would give the Obama Admin. complete control of the healthcare industry. Yes, it could be compared to Stalin, Hitler and Mao. Van Jones and Cass Sunstein, Obama Czars think along the same lines as the socialist, marxist agendas. I say “NO!”
By Concerned
December 13, 2009 3:46 AM | Link to this
Trying to contact Sherrod Brown is next to impossible. Phone lines ring busy during office hours, emails generate an automated response that fails to address our concerns. Town hall meetings? Where and when? It’s time for a recall. He has failed to represent my interests since his first day in office.
By davidss2
December 14, 2009 8:04 AM | Link to this
Jane, you’ve gotten your made up story confused. At first you said it was your friend then in your most recent post you said “as for what her caring friend did” as if it’s someone else’s friend…———The concept of making up sob stories to get things passed is old technique. It was even used for the first Iraq invasion: remember the babies falsely alleged to have been taken out of incubators at the Kuwaiti hospital, all alleged by a high class girl who supposed was there but it turns out was just a member of the wealthy in the area wanting US intervention, and she had been dragged in and testified… ——-That’s your story. Gotta keep those stories straight, as Judge Judy says.+++++++++And I said your alleged friend should have been using the free services just as the other people do, many who shouldn’t be using them. She had the system available to her. It was her choice, for some reason, to not get medical care. Sorry you don’t like my pointing out reality, but sanctimonious sounds like your push for a cause to tax other people’s money. Contribute your own? Why didn’t you pay for her care?
By davidss2
December 14, 2009 8:06 AM | Link to this
Brown has the typical democrat drivel about how free speech and caring for all opinions and working across the aisle are his goals. Look at the critics of free speech about cap and tax, healthcare, the 1.1 trillion bill just passed with pork in it last weekend. I’m all for a recall. I voted against the selfrighteous deWine. I’ll help with a recall of this Mistake from the Lake Brown.
By Leslie
December 14, 2009 10:58 AM | Link to this
Of course Brown can use the I won’t take the federal employee health insurance until a public option is available, and of course he would be willing to sign on to a public option. FACT -Brown comes from MONEY!!! Brown does not need insurance he can pay for everything himself. Brown is not an everyday average citizen. Brown is a rich elite born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Brown does not have a clue about everyday people.
By Leslie
December 14, 2009 11:06 AM | Link to this
Jane, Health Care is not a right. We ended slavery in America long long ago. Thereby, you have no right to demand service from a doctor. You have no right to enslave someone, thereby, health care is not a right! If you feel you have a right to medical treatment I suggest you become a doctor and treat yourself.
By Mom
December 14, 2009 4:53 PM | Link to this
Do those of you who claim health care reform is a move to socialism or communism consider every country that has health care for all to be socialist or communist? Like Germany, Japan, Switzerland, etc. In this area, the US a on a par with countries like China, Pakistan, Peru, and all of Africa except South Africa. We are like a third world country! This is a national disgrace!
By Therapist
December 14, 2009 4:59 PM | Link to this
The anti-health reform people sound like paranoid schizophrenics. Crazy! Get back on your meds!
By Leslie
December 15, 2009 11:18 AM | Link to this
Mom and Therapist, why do you support slavery?
By Mom
December 15, 2009 12:01 PM | Link to this
Leslie: You really are crazy!
By Me
December 16, 2009 8:22 AM | Link to this
Leslie, why do you support letting people die?
By Leslie
December 16, 2009 8:53 AM | Link to this
Me, Why do you support enslaving people? Fact of life people die. Why do you support government deciding who dies? If you want to give you life to the government join the military.
By Me
December 16, 2009 11:37 AM | Link to this
Leslie clearly does not know what she’s talking about and is unbalanced. So sad that she isn’t able to get the psychiatric help she needs.
By Beth
December 17, 2009 6:58 AM | Link to this
Health care is a right. It is a Moral issue. It is a HUMAN issue. We, the United States, should be embarrassed as a country when we compare the quality of our health care to the care of Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Cuba, & England. No one wants our version of health care. For those of us who have health care, count your blessings, then try to imagine life without health care. Senator Brown is right in not taking the health care offered to gov’t officials, until all Ohioians have insurance. He is in touch with the people of Ohio and is working to improve their lives. Wanting health care for all, is not a socialist idea, and it is NOT a take over—it is what the people of this country need and deserve.
By Leslie
December 17, 2009 10:36 AM | Link to this
Beth, health care is not a right! In order for health care to be a right you must force some one to provide that care. That is slavery! So Beth since you support slavery - you become a doctor and be the slave.
By Jobloe
December 20, 2009 8:38 AM | Link to this
Leslie, are you stupid? Absolutely no one is saying anything about forcing people to become physicians, or even touching private physician pay. Do you have any idea what the hell slavery is, or how the health industry works as a whole? The entire reason this thing is such a big deal is because CURRENTLY, 2 out of every 3 dollars spent on insurance goes to MARKETING and EXECUTIVE SALARIES…NOT for actual health care…THAT is what happens when you run healthcare as a BUSINESS and not a service.
By Leslie
December 20, 2009 1:46 PM | Link to this
Jobloe, are you stupid? Many doctors will and have said they will quit. In all this demand for you right to health care you forgot that doctors are people too and they have rights as well. Their right to follow their ethics, their principles and their oath will be taken from them, for what you deem to be your right. Taking away a person’s freedom so that you can be serviced is slavery. Country’s with socialized medicine have doctor shortages. Politicians (politics) will determine how many hospitals we can afford and where they will be located. Health care won’t be about health care it will become totally politicized. Have you ever listened to the people in Washington? Black Panthers not prosecuted. ACORN no investigation still funded. SEIU thugs beat up protestor, SEIU thugs no prosecuted. You guys are so clueless to reality, but this bad bill will pass. Four years from now when you finally get your government health care you will know what I am talking about.
By fed up
December 23, 2009 1:43 PM | Link to this
People live longer in countries where the government provides health care than people in the good ole USA.