New life for the public option?

Support for a government-sponsored “public” healthcare option is hovering around 70-75% of late. One can’t get three quarters of Americans to agree on what time it is so that level of support for anything is extraordinary. That goes double for anything that has been derided, if inaccurately, as socialized medicine. That stigma has scared many a jello-spined Democrat (Blue Dogs, I am looking at you), who would like nothing more than to compromise on public coverage and take away that GOP talking point.

Given the new polling, that may be changing.

(CBS/AP) Emboldened by polls that show public backing for a government health insurance plan, Democrats are moving to make it a politically defining issue in the debate over the future of medical care.

[Snip]

Most Democrats want the final health care bill to include a government sponsored plan that for the first time would be open to middle-class workers and their families. It would be offered alongside private plans through a new kind of insurance purchasing pool called an exchange. Individuals and small businesses would be able to buy coverage through exchanges, but eventually businesses of any size might be able to join. Proponents say the option of a public plan in the marketplace would put a brake on costs and check the power of insurers. But Republicans, insurers and many business leaders say a government plan could drive private insurance companies out of business.

Nonetheless, two recent news media polls have found public support for a government plan, even if many people are unsure about its implications. The most recent survey, a New York Times-CBS News poll released Sunday, found that 72 percent supported the idea, including half of those who identified themselves as Republicans.

"The polling data backs up our subjective view that to make health care reform work, you need a public option," said Schumer.

I say kudos to those Dems getting on board with the government plan, but the devil is in the details. I am not convinced that they can actually deliver a meaningful public option but at least they seem to be making the right noises about it.