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House Democrats announced their health care reform legislation today, and it includes a public option.
CNN reports,
The nearly 2,000 page bill -- a combination of three different versions passed by House committees -- would cost $894 billion over 10 years and extend insurance coverage to 36 million uncovered Americans, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
It guarantees that 96 percent of Americans have coverage, Pelosi said. The figure is based on an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Among other things, the bill would subsidize insurance for poorer Americans and create health insurance exchanges to make it easier for small groups and individuals to purchase coverage. It would also cap annual out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Reaction across the blogosphere was immediate and much of it centered around the public option included in the legislation.
Pandagon writes the inclusion of the public option was no surprise,
When Nancy Pelosi says something is non-negotiable, you’d better believe her. In general, the bill is exactly what most of us thought it would be. The big thing is the Health Insurance Exchange that would allow people who aren’t covered for whatever reason to buy insurance through the exchange, which would increase competition and drive down prices. There’s also a mandate, which is uncomfortable but should help drive down costs.
Firedoglake writes,
The Blue Dogs fought hard and they won a big victory for the for-profit health insurance companies. If I were an insurance company CEO, I would be writing each of them a very large thank you note (i.e. a campaign contribution). Of course, today was a huge defeat for the American taxpayer, serious health care reform, and working class Americans who are going to be denied a robust public option which could have saved them thousands of dollars.
While Amanda Terkel focused on the bill's treatment of domestic violence,
A less-noticed — but still significant — part of the bill would ensure that insurers in the individual market would no longer treat domestic violence as a pre-existing condition...
...This provision is part of the bill’s larger ban on pre-existing conditions, which stipulates that insurers cannot discriminate based on 'health status, medical condition, claims experience, receipt of health care, medical history, genetic information, evidence of insurability, disability, or source of injury (including conditions arising out of acts of domestic violence) or any similar factors.
Meanwhile Jillian Bandes at Townhall.com questioned the procedure for allowing the public or the media to cover the announcement,
Apparently, Pelosi wouldn't let those without "proper identification" -- not sure what that meant -- into the West Front area of the Capitol where the release was being staged.
You can read the complete text of the bill here (pdf) and get a summary on the Committee for Education and Labor's blog.
