What Jed Said

JedL (Daily Kos): Mandate + No public option = Political malpractice

Before DC politicians -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- impose an individual health insurance mandate without a public option, here's a Harry and Louise scenario that they had better start wrapping their minds around:

VISUAL: Harry and Louise at a kitchen table, reviewing their monthly health insurance bill.

LOUISE (shaking head): I can't believe it! They've raised prices again!

HARRY: And they still won't pay for your procedure.

LOUISE: It makes me so angry. What are we going to do?

HARRY (throwing hands in air): What choice do we have? If Congress had just passed the public plan, then we'd have another option...

LOUISE: ...and the health insurance industry wouldn't be holding us hostage.

HARRY (leaning back in chair): Instead, we're stuck with this expensive insurance plan...

LOUISE: ...and we're paying higher taxes than ever to subsidize their profits.

HARRY (leans back towards table): Congress should have gotten it right when they had a chance.

LOUISE: But they didn't, and now we have no choice.

There's no question that health insurance CEOs love the idea of requiring everybody to buy their product with no competition from a public plan. It would be the biggest gift to health insurance industry ever. Just ask Max Baucus.

But anybody who thinks that kind of reform will be popular with anyone outside the insurance industry needs to get their head examined. It wouldn't just be bad policy, it would be political malpractice of the worst kind, and it will doom whichever party makes it happen.