President Obama continues to push for a public health care plan as part of addressing health care needs. Of course. It’s cheaper and a path to universal coverage.

Don’t look for help from U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, busily working to protect the profiteering private insurance companies.

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Senate Democrats are by no means unified on that idea, and a group of fiscally conservative House Democrats expressed concern on Wednesday about some proposals for a public plan.

The group, the 51-member Blue Dog Coalition, said the public plan should be available only as a backup, if private insurers did not rein in costs and offer affordable coverage to everyone.

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Even then, the Blue Dogs said, the public insurance plan must not be a replica of Medicare, the government-run health program for older Americans; must not use Medicare rates to pay doctors and hospitals; and “must adhere to the same rules and regulations” as private insurers.

“No one knows what the public option will or will not be able to achieve,” said Representative Mike Ross of Arkansas, a Blue Dog leader. “Frankly, it’s an experiment. We cannot create a public option that stacks the deck against a system that currently provides coverage to more than 160 million Americans.”

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Right. Make sure Medicare has the much higher administrative costs of private insurance. Run government like that greedy business.

Meanwhile, many Americans can’t afford drugs, never mind health insurance.

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