Control Issues

If this is true, then Obamacare is on its deathbed, folks. At least one House Republican is saying at this point they are discussing a deal with Blue Dog Dems for their own health care bill.

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) asserted that an "interesting development" is taking place underway that, if true, could effectively remove Democratic leadership from the driver's seat on healthcare reform legislation in the House.

"There's an interesting development occurring behind the scenes, wherein moderate Democrats — so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats — and business-friendly new Democrats are actually starting to have conversations with us to build a coalition from the center outward, to actually really come up with substantive and well-founded healthcare reform," Boustany said during an appearance on Fox News. "And that's the only way to do this."

Now, this is most likely just a House Republican trying to sow doubt and discord among the ranks.

But if it's true, here's how the playbook runs:

The GOP announces their own health care plan along with the Blue Dogs, I'm guessing something exaclty like their non-plan they rolled out in June. There's no way the plan includes a public option, mandates, or subsidies. The plan will however include rolling back insurance regulations "in order to make it easier for health insurance companies to compete for your health care dollars." It will most likely have opt out rules, meaning you will have to take your employer's insurance offerings unless you tell them no. Parents will be able to keep kids on their insurance until age 25. Most likely, Republicans will want to give some sort of tax credit to businesses too.

In other words, your employer will make the choice of what they want to offer, and you can take it or leave it, with the default being take it. You will be able to get your own health care plan through the "private insurance co-ops" or whatever the Republicans will call it, but of course the cost will be astronomically higher than the employer based plans. The health insurance comapnies will get more premiums from more people, make higher profits, and will get more loopholes. Republicans will crow about covering more Americans, but we'll still have the exact same problem: a health care system designed to maximize insurance company profits rather than providing care to consumers.

In other words, nothing will change. We'll still have the same broken system, only it will cover another 10 million Americans or so, making even more money for the insurance companies. It will do nothing to control costs and it will most likely increase them as private insurers will have to "pass the costs of insuring people with pre-existing conditions" on to consumers. Once again, health care will be rationed by your ability to afford coverage.

The plan is simple: if the House GOP and enough Blue Dogs back this terrible plan and force Obama and the Democratic leadership to kill it, the GOP claims they tried to fix health care and the Dems didn't. 2010 becomes a bloodbath for the Dems at the polls, and rightfully so.

We're in the endgame now, folks. Our shot at real reform is on life support. Contact your Representative and let them know you want actual health care reform, and not another multi-billion dollar handout for the insurance giants so they can extend their monopoly and keep overcharging us.

Remember the GOP Plan:

"If we're able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo," Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said yesterday during a conference call with conservative activists. "It will break him."

Destroy Obama. That's all that matters to these guys.