The quest for a public option has been watered down immensely since the end of the House debate on the matter. What seemed like a real sense of purpose among House Democratic congressional leaders in securing legislation to include a public option — even in the face of futile derailments by more conservative Dems and Republicans last month — has all but been abandoned now. In fact, total acquiescence to the Senate’s desires is the rule, according to many officials today close to the legislative process being worked out at this hour.

Essentially, the endgame is what I have predicted all along in the pages of this blog — a mandate not on public financing of healthcare, but the close rein on the influence of Insurance on healthcare financing.

In obvious maneuvering among House and Senate leaders, as well as the president, the goal of getting a reform bill out complete with all the trappings of the Democrats’ talking points of “achievements” and “future gains” is gaining momentum. Government insertion into Insurance is the major issue to be resolved by the time President Obama touts his health reform “accomplishments” in his annual State of the Union address in a few weeks. All of this rests against a backdrop of revised statements from Speaker Pelosi and Obama, to name a couple, carefully worded as the tepid bill awaits House-Senate merging.

• Pelosi has recently listed “new” goals for the bill without ever mentioning the public options she has so long supported: We are optimistic that there is much that we have in common in both of our bills and that we will resolve or reconcile this legislation in a way that is a triple A rating: affordability for the middle class, accountability for the insurance companies, and accessibility to many more people in our country to quality, affordable health care.
• Obama says that — although he has always favored a public option — it has never been an essential part of his desire to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system.
• House Dems, who acknowledge the precarious nature of the inclusion of a public option, now are saying they favor reforming Insurance if they aren’t “let off the hook”.

Compromise or capitulation from the House? At this point, it really doesn’t matter. Just get the thing passed so we can start focusing on its influence in the second decade of 21st Century Healthcare. | LINK

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