Sen. Kent Conrad has come up with a new argument against the public option. When asked by Ezra Klein, why he opposes a public option he said, he doesn't “think a government-run plan best fits this culture.”
I would be very curious to know how Sen. Conrad came to his conclusion. Just today a new NYT/CBS News poll was released showing that 65% of Americans favor creating a Medicare like public option open to everyone.
Government administered health insurance programs are not a foreign concept in this country. There are currently tens of millions of Americans who are currently very satisfied with the coverage they get from our country's existing government-run plans (Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, VA system).
If Sen. Conrad meant to say that a government-run plan doesn't best fit the Washington DC culture of high paid corporate lobbyists, I would be inclined to agree with him. Out in the rest of America, where people are struggling with the crush cost of health care, most Americans think the idea would fit our culture just fine.
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