Today Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced today that the healthcare reform bill will contain "opt-out" language that gives individual states control over whether or not to offer the so-called Public Option to its residents. Josh Marshall over at TPM does some decent big-picture analysis.
Crucial for me is that, with the opt-out language, more progressive (read: intelligent) state governments will eagerly allow publicly-run healthcare insurance to be available to Americans living in their states, and conservative (read: Obama-hating) state governments will, well, opt out and decide for the millions they represent that they're better off with purely private, employer-based (or self-paid) health insurance (or no insurance) until they reach age 65 (or, if they really need health care, to go to emergency rooms and get the costliest free health care there is). Watch for some people to move into states where the Public Option is available (or at least to establish residency in those states through relatives or other means). Also watch Glenn Beck go even more ballistic and claim that the colors of the US flag are now red, red, and red.
As Marshall explains, the opt-out provision now makes it easier to overcome a Republican-led filibuster, and to make it easier for Dems who were thinking of caucusing with the GOP to vote for the healthcare reform bill.
Good news.
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