Blanche Lincoln is a centristy centrist

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) argues that health care reform shouldn't include a public plan, because that would drive out private competition:

“One of our biggest concerns is that it doesn’t need to be a government plan that usurps that ability to compete in the marketplace, which I’m concerned that a totally government-run option would do,” she said.

Here's digby on the competitive market Sen. Lincoln wishes to preserve in Arkansas:

The Justice Department considers an industry to be “highly concentrated” if one company has 42 percent of the market. In Arkansas — Senator Lincoln should take note — Blue Cross Blue Shield has 75 percent of the market. If you take government self-insurance plans out of the equation, it's higher. The state ranks as the ninth most concentrated in the country. Is it any wonder that insurance premiums have risen five times as fast as wages?

Here's Barack Obama at today's press conference, explaining that a public plan would eliminate private competition only if the insurance companies couldn't offer consumers a better deal:

Why would it drive private insurance out of business? If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care; if they tell us that they're offering a good deal, then why is it that the government -- which they say can't run anything -- suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That's not logical.

"Now, the -- I think that there's going to be some healthy debates in Congress about the shape that this takes. I think there can be some legitimate concerns on the part of private insurers that if any public plan is simply being subsidized by taxpayers endlessly that over time they can't compete with the government just printing money, so there are going to be some I think legitimate debates to be had about how this private plan takes shape.

"But just conceptually, the notion that all these insurance companies who say they're giving consumers the best possible deal, if they can't compete against a public plan as one option, with consumers making the decision what's the best deal, that defies logic, which is why I think you've seen in the polling data overwhelming support for a public plan.

I really do not get the stated opposition to the public plan.  According to the critics, it would be so popular that it would drive private insurers out of the market.  Every time I hear this I want to respond, "Wait a minute.  You oppose what you say would be an incredibly popular reform because it would be bad for insurance companies?  Really?  That's your argument?"  In his own polite way, that's what Obama said.  I hope someone in the establishment media is paying attention.  Because people like Blanche Lincoln should be asked to explain why they put insurance companies' interests ahead of the people's interest.

Comments

[Terry Bleizeffer]

This is what always grates me when people complain that "government health care" will lead to higher taxes. Who cares? The question is whether how the higher taxes compare to what we're already spending on insurance and what quality we get in return. I swear some conservatives would rather pay an insurance company $1000 than pay the government $800 for the same quality because paying the government is called "taxes" and taxes are obviously bad.

[Rockfish]

I agree, Terry. It boils down to Government = Bad. It isn't any ore complicated than that.