When Out of Hope, Feign Change | Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute: Commentary

When Out of Hope, Feign Change | Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The definition of a cooperative is a health plan governed by its enrollees. Since a government chartered co-op won't have any enrollees at first, it will be governed by — guess who? — the Secretary of Health and Human Services, just like any other government program."

'In June, Sebelius told Bloomberg.com, "You could theoretically design a co-op plan that had the same attributes as a public plan." In July, President Obama himself told Time magazine, "I think in theory you can imagine a co-operative meeting that definition" of a "public option."'

'So even if Democrats promise that someday the new program will become a co-op, what they mean is: "We're going to create that new government health program, just as we intended all along. But we will turn it over to the members in, oh, five years or so. We promise."'

'President Obama keeps saying you'll be able to keep your current health plan, even though the Congressional Budget Office says that isn't true. The president says a new government program wouldn't drive private insurers out of business, even though his allies expect it to do just that. He says he wants choice and competition, yet proposes insurance regulations that would drive most private plans out of existence. He doesn't want the government to take over the health sector, just like he didn't want to take over General Motors. The administration pretends to distance itself from a new government program by embracing...another new government program.'