(Public Option) Hope Springs Eternal
Pop quiz - what’s the best way to win friends and influence people? Sweeten the pot so they get something out of it too. It’s Negotiating 101, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seems ready to play hard.
According to the New York Times, Pelosi and 13 House Democrats signed a deal to increase Medicare payments in their states. This move paves the way to convince these Dems to support a public insurance plan that uses Medicare rates as a basis for paying doctors and hospitals. It’s the plan liberal Democrats want.
The move is part of the new bullish push to pass health care legislation with a public option. Just yesterday, Sen. Harry Reid met with President Obama to let him know that he was going to try to pass a bill with an opt-out public option. It’s a bit of a gamble - our good friend Olympia Snowe has said she will oppose the legislation, and it’s not clear that any other Republican will sign on.
But Reid is moving forward anyway, which means he thinks he has the votes. For her part, Pelosi is so confident that she’s told her members to be ready to vote for a bill with a public option before Nov. 11.
Unsurprisingly, House Republican leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) warns that the celebration is premature. “This talk of the Democrats’ having 218 votes is nonsense,” Boehner told the New York Times.