Matthew Spieler asks a good question:
I have a question for politicians like Rep. Raul Grijalva, Rep. Anthony Weiner, and the the folks at Firedoglake who would rather kill reform than enact the Senate bill: what kind of health insurance do you have? ...
The answer to that question with respect to any member of Congress is this: private insurance. ... They are not on Medicare, or some totally awesome plan called Congresscare. Members of Congress receive health insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plan. FEHB offers federal employees--including members of Congress--a choice of private insurers. ...
The argument that passing nothing is preferable to passing the Senate bill goes like this: the Senate bill has no public option. Thus, the individual mandate would enrich insurance companies. And we can’t do that.
First, I think worrying about insurance company profits is a luxury enjoyed by those who have insurance. Most uninsured people would take private insurance over no insurance. ...
Second, I have some uncomfortable news for every progressive who wants to kill HCR because they don’t want private insurers to enjoy bigger profits: your private insurance enriches the insurance companies. Denying the uninsured what you yourself enjoy is the most despicable sort of hypocrisy imaginable. And yes, I understand that private insurance in the exchanges would be subsidized. Guess what: if you receive private insurance through your employer, your insurance is subsidized too. It’s called the employer health plan tax exclusion.