White House Insists “Nothing Has Changed” on Public Health Insurance Option

why do you people keep falling into the same argument? its not about health care reform, EVERYONE agrees that health care needs reform. obama's idea sucks! its not free, its about achieving control over everyones life,
its not well thought out, the people giving him advice are all for babies and old folk (over 55) not getting any or limited care. and after all the trillions obama wants to spend it
STILL doesnt cover everyone. READ the damn bill! quit polarizing on the same argument! there isnt a single american out there who doesnt want everyone to have medical attention when they need it! why would you even think that?
there are several things that can be done with the current system to control cost WITHOUT the government sticking there nose into private matters. and lastly look at how the government runs things,,, they fail every single time!
overspending, crappy service. they just cant do the job! you know kinda like obama and the presidents job.

I wish someone could get a hold of just exactly where the money goes that is withheld from every paycheck...I would bet that the government payroll alone would eat a lot of that money...especially now with all those czars and whitehouse employees...and Congress who just arbitrarily gives themselves raises every year...nice going American taxpayers....when I get a raise it is because I deserve it..these jerks should all get fired!! That means ALL of them!!

Health Care has become totally about politics. The Democrats are afraid of criticism if they actually do any real reform.

Have the played it out and realized they are going to end up despised by both the left and the right?

jeanna, I feel your frustration. It is hypocritical to say our government should protect us from enemies, criminals, bad food and drugs but not provide affordable insurance for health care.
That's the beauty of Rep. Weiner of N.Y. plan. It is Medicare for all.
With only a 4% overhead, infrastructure already in place, a low percentage of dissatisfied customers, it is an ideal 'insurance' for us all to eventually be in, if we choose. His plan is to gradually lower the age from 65 to 55, etc. With public health insurance taking 30% of our premiums for overheard, Medicare clearly can do the job better. With a little tweaking to lower the amount of fraud, this is a workable common-sense plan. It is worth learning about.
I'd be happy to give what I pay for private insurance now to Medicare just to know I won't lose it if I lose my job, no fellow citizen will be denied for a pre-existing condition and none of my money would go to ads and exec bonuses ever again.

“The American people have indicated they want no part of a public plan or socialized medicine”

According to an NBC News poll released today, 47% of Americans oppose the public plan, versus 43% who support it.

What do you think that 43% is made up of? Swiss cheese?

How the far right can justify the government using the peoples money to police and lock up US citizens in jails and prisons to make us safe, but not to insure their health is hypocrisy in the most extreme. Why do they believe our money can only be used to punish and inflict pain and not to prevent or cure illness. I feel like yelling at the top of my lungs, I'M ANGRY AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!

Friends, Health care for all should not be confused with defending the constitution--although government-provided health insurance would do exactly that. It is a simple matter. We live in a world where catastrophic injury or illness threatens to destroy our "life, liberty & pursuit of happiness". Only the most wealthy of us does not have to worry about this. Providing free or low-cost health insurance to all, can give an enormous benefit to our well-being. And a benefit to our nation would be that of feeling protected so that our full potential of productivity will naturally be enhanced. It could be pointed out that that feeling of protection equates with the government services through their police power--providing security and law & order. That is what our constitution's government set-up does. What is wrong with that?

The Democrats must recognize that the public option plan is indispensible and the 83% of the American people are supportive of the policies OBAMA is trying to implement ! The Democrats have great idea and the American citizens want them to do their job. They won overwhelmingly in November 2008 because the American people voted the Republicans out of office.

Sidney, calm down. Sheesh.

Your idea that government has to limit itself to defending the Constitution and its people, ignores and over-simplifies so much.

When the FDA lessens the chance of bad food getting to market, what are they doing but protecting the people? (the companies that get fines for having dirty facilities think the FDA is encroaching on their profits, trying to control them.) Defending the people from dying from food poisoning is as serious as defending them from an invading army.

In the same way, when you break down the health care problems we have in this country, (the U.S. spends more than any other country on health care per person but we are only rated 37th world-wide, 47 million of us don't have health care, many more millions are under-insured, any of us can be dropped from our policies for pre-existing conditions determined and frequently unfairly, by the insurance companies; half of all bankruptcies in our country were for medical bills, with the majority of these unfortunate people having medical insurance, etc.) Providing health insurance that people with low incomes can afford to buy is protecting the people. Yes, they will be buying it, all but the very poorest will be paying.

Providing health insurance that people can afford will help small businesses that lose their best workers to big corporations that can give insurance at a lower cost because they are dealing in volume. As small businesses are the life-blood of our economy this is vitally important for all of us. They provide the innovation and millions of jobs in towns large and small that sustain our economy.

Providing an alternative to private insurance will help keep their premiums from skyrocketing every year for those of us who have those policies, because they will have real competition.

Health insurance isn't a luxury but should be looked at as a necessity. There can't be 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' without good health.

Sure, there isn't anything about the FDA in the Constitution but the Founding Fathers couldn't imagine the modern world we live in today. Our country is so much more crowded and complicated than when they wrote the Constitution, the dangers we need protection from are much greater than they could have imagined. Same with health care, it is too big a part of our lives to remain so unregulated and unavailable to a growing percentage of our population if we are able to remain strong as a country, economically, and physically healthy.

This administration is more confused than a lost submarine captain. They are both constantly sticking something above the surface to figure where they are and where they are going!

Only solution....vote EVERY one of them out of office. Then, election finance reform.

Judy,what part of the medical field are you in? Do you agree with Mr. Obama's views that surgeons are doing unnecessary operations only for money?Did you really believe that he knew what he was talking about?I'm an educated man but I still have difficulty understanding what points he is trying to make with many of his rambling and incoherent answers to simple questions.

President Obama has the ability to be very clear about what he wants. He has had dozens of opportunities to publicly explain his vision for health care reform.
He can be as detailed as he chooses, and provide as much clarity on the issue as he wants.
Nobody should have to guess about what he really wants and what he'd veto.

Yet here we are guessing. That is obviously not by accident- it is the choice he's made.

I am laid off and have been listening to President Obama and people are not listening to him. They ask the same questions over and over again, and he takes time to keep repeating. I am in the medical field. We need change in the healthcare system. Insurance companies are just the same as big CEO"S who get paid extra and does not have to report to anyone. I know this is why they do no want reform. Somebody might really know who is cheating who

THESE GOV'T OFFICIALS, INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT DO NOT UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE ONLY TEMP'S. THEIR JOB IS TO PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION AND THE PEOPLE
OF THE U.S. WHO PAY THEIR SALARIES. THEY WERE NOT ELECTED TO BECOME MASTERS OVER THE PEOPLE, THAT IS WHAT WE ESCAPED
FROM WHEN WE WROTE THE CONSTITUTION WWHICH SET US FREE FROM GOV'T. WE INTEND TO REMAIN FREE PEOPLE, WITHOUT THE BUNCH OF MISFITS NOW IN OFFICE FROM
OBAMA THROUGH PALOSI, REED AND ALL THE
FOOLS WHO MAKE UP OUR GOVERNMENT.

President Obama and the W/H staff are playing the game so that they don't take the heat from the far left. The American people have indicated they want no part of a public plan or socialized medicine but the left think, especially in the house, that they can force it through. The President has flip/flopped because he wants to say he is behind the public option(which he is) and blame the congress if it doesn't make it. Not sure it's his legacy he's worried about. He has stated that he wants to (my interpretation) change our country into a socialist government and if that means being only a one term president to achieve it, so be it.

The legacy of a thug is the lesson he leaves to posterity about how free people deal with their enemies. That will be Obama's legacy. Best, of course, if he leaves no trace of himself in civilization at all.

Poor widdle Obie. The Not-Too-Bright-in-Chief has come out of the closet.

I hope all the irresponsible lefties who drank that stale Kool-Aid and snake oil from the Snake himself feel appropriately guilty for putting the country through the experience of patting this nobody on the back and elevating him to a position for which he has no skills whatsoever.

Without his props of other people, TOTUS, money, and intimidation, Obama is truly nothing but a punk who's still angry at his parents for abandoning him.

He is to be pitied, yes, but not propped up any longer.

Had he one gram of decency in his entire body, he'd resign in shame and go hide somewhere for the rest of his miserable days.

Jake, if you are really looking for conflicting statements in the health care debate, try Grassley on the "pulling the plug on grandma" garbage.

...crickets...

...crickets...

...crickets...

Ah, our cheap press at work...

Any day now, I expect to hear Gibbs say, "and we've always been at war with Eastasia!"