Tony Ondrusek, Publisher

According to today’s (April 30) Congressional Quarterly journal: “Congressional Democrats appear increasingly determined to create a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers as part of a health care overhaul, despite warnings by Republicans, business groups and insurers that doing so would mean the end of employer-sponsored health insurance.”

The write-up posted on the subscription-only website was in response to a letter drafted by 15 Democrat senators and one independent that was directed to Democrat Senators Edward Kennedy and Max Baucus, who chair the committees writing health care overhaul language into 2010 budget legislation that would provide for “a public plan option.” Since the House approved budget reconciliation rules in their version of the 2010 budget.

According to The Hill newspaper, the letter to Kennedy and Baucus came a day after “more than 100 liberal House Democrats, represented by the Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian-Pacific American Caucus, sent a similar letter to House leaders.”

While most Republicans say the plan will find most employers will opt out of private insurance and go to the public plan, that payments to doctors would be lower and would lead to a dearth of physicians, and that ultimately our country could see a rationing of health care, at least one columnist, writing for the Washington Examiner, thinks that Sen. Kennedy is actually playing right into the hands of the health insurers with his proposal.