Red state Democrat goes on health care offense: "Start talking about the public option"
The Republican push to repeal Obamacare, destroy Medicaid, and eliminate coverage for 22 million poor and sick Americans is temporarily stalled in the Senate. Facing GOP defections and intense public opposition, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell conceded he may not have the votes to do it. Democrats are wasting no time using this window of opportunity […]

The Republican push to repeal Obamacare, destroy Medicaid, and eliminate coverage for 22 million poor and sick Americans is temporarily stalled in the Senate. Facing GOP defections and intense public opposition, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell conceded he may not have the votes to do it.
Democrats are wasting no time using this window of opportunity to change the national dialogue on the future of health care, as exemplified by Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.
McCaskill, who a month ago publicly shamed the Senate Finance Committee for holding no hearings and excluding Democrats from the health care working group, just held a town hall in Macon, in which she not only expressed confidence the Senate repeal bill would fail, but also advocated expanding Obamacare with a public option.
“I was against it at the time. So I think I made a mistake on that,” she said.
This is not the first time this week McCaskill has signaled this shift. She made the same comment at another town hall on Wednesday:
"It's time to start talking about a public option." – Senator McCaskill on healthcare.
— Boone County Dems (@BooneDems) July 5, 2017
While McCaskill has always personally favored a public option, she accepted its removal from Obamacare as a compromise during its original passage, and long expressed doubts about its political viability. Her new endorsement of the policy, at a forum in a county Trump won by 56 points, signals a national shift.
McCaskill is not alone. All over the country, there are signs of increasing political momentum for a public option.
In Nevada, the state legislature passed a bill that would have essentially converted Medicaid into a public option, by letting people in the health insurance exchanges buy into it. Only a veto from Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval stopped it from becoming law.
Now that Republicans have proved their inability to lead on health care policy, it is time for Democrats to show that they hear the concerns of the American people and have their own progressive alternatives. McCaskill’s push for a public option marks the start of that conversation.
Recommended

Cost, access still barriers to medical care for Black Ohio women
A recent study recommended increases in Medicaid eligibility and other legislative measures to help improve health care outcomes and access for Black women in Ohio, while still spotlighting fears of discrimination among women seeking care.
By Susan Tebben, Ohio Capital Journal - October 15, 2024
Texas’ abortion laws are straining the OB/GYN workforce, new study shows
More doctors are considering leaving or retiring early, while fewer medical students are applying to obstetrics and gynecology residencies in Texas.
By Eleanor Klibanoff, Texas Tribune - October 08, 2024
Rogers says Medicare negotiating drug price reductions is ‘sugar high politics’
Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake)said he was “passionately against” allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, which he referred to as “sugar high politics.”
By Jon King, Michigan Advance - October 02, 2024