Things are not always as easy as they seem as why the Medicare Buy in was killed. Of course, all of the bad guys (Lieberman, Nelson, Landrieu), who did not want an extension of Medicare or any other public option, pp
But many other people, who are liberal and want the public option, voiced serious concerns about it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...
The letter to Reid said the senators "fear that provider shortages in states with low reimbursement rates such as ours will make such a program ineffective, or even worsen the problems these states are experiencing." One of its authors, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who early in his career founded a Gray Panther chapter that fought for better health insurance for older Americans, said in an interview that he has long been concerned about coverage for people ages 55 to 64. But the proposal, he said, would have worsened a climate in Oregon in which some doctors restrict the number of Medicare patients they will treat.
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More here
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/200...
"Creating a Medicare buy-in program will exacerbate the existing funding inequity," the group said in the letter it Reid. It was signed by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Al Franken (D-MN), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Pat Leahy (D-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Tom Udall
"Medicare is spending over one-third more for each Medicare beneficiary in some states compared to ours. The combination of an antiquated payment formula that tends to penalize rural providers and greater medical efficiency in our states has forced many physicians to stop accepting Medicare patients or limit the number of Medicare patients they serve," they wrote.
Edited in order to reflect who signed the letter.
I am not trying to defend the fact that they dropped anything. Just making clear that, sometimes, serious concerns are voiced by people who are not necessarily against us. The brief life of the Medicare buy in story is an example. Aside from the opposition of the usual suspects, the issue of rural reimbursement was a non starter for many Democrats.
