The President's Plan: Public Option

The Public Option is in President Obama's Plan.

Offers a public health insurance option to provide the uninsured and those who can’t find affordable coverage with a real choice. The President believes this option will promote competition, hold insurance companies accountable and assure affordable choices. It is completely voluntary. The President believes the public option must operate like any private insurance company – it must be self-sufficient and rely on the premiums it collects. - The White House

That is what consistent, progressive pressure and advocacy can do, folks.

Now, on to Congress.

By the way, if you want to petition Rep. Joe Wilson to apologize for calling the President a liar during the speech, there's a Twitter petition.

I'd like to add emphasis to a point made by Tom Schaller on FiveThirtyEight.com:

But it’s amazing to hear a Republican talk about making sure that every American has access to health care regardless of pre-existing conditions. If the GOP really means that, Obama can hold their feet to the fire and ask him them either (a) how they plan to do that via the insurance companies; or (b) failing that, how they will do it without having some sort of public option when the insurance companies refuse to cover those who have potentially costly pre-existing conditions that no premium amount would ever cover. - FiveThirtyEight.com

This is an important and critical observation. The Public Option is a means to an end, not an end unto itself. On this ground, we can win the fight, by turning the tables and forcing the Republicans to show they don't have a better idea to achieve the same ends. After all, they have stated they support the goals of health reform, and only disagree on the means.