It Depends on What the Meaning of “Public” Is

Remember the infamous “it depends on what the meaning of ‘is” is?

Sen. Kay Hagan is taking the same approach with “public option,” according to this News & Observer blog about her views on health care. The senator says it depends on what the meaning of “public” is.

“We haven’t taken a ‘public option’ off the table,” she told reporters today. She said it depends on what that means. A member of a key Senate health committee, she said she’s working with colleagues to find a way to expand coverage, ensure quality of care and be fiscally accountable.

Critics, she said, “need to stay tuned.” “People are so centered on the word ‘public’,” she said. “And it really depends on what’s (involved) in that.”

There’s no question that private insurers will be unable to compete with the so-called public option. Listen to this WPTF interview with Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC vice president Barbara Morales Burke and you’ll find out what will happen to the private insurance market.