While Reid Supports Public Option Reconciliation News Gets The Pub, Feinstein's Move Is Just As Newsworthy

Let's hope it's not a "Whatever happens in Vegas, stay in Vegas" type deal as one commentator named accumbens at the Kos said.

Greg Sargent reports that Harry Reid, in a day where him and President Obama were state hopping in Nevada, will support reconciliation through a public option:

With more and more Senators signing on to the letter urging Reid to hold an up or down vote on the public option under reconciliation rules, Reid spokesman Rodell Mollineau sends over a statement signaling Reid’s qualified support for the move:

Senator Reid has always and continues to support the public option as a way to drive down costs and create competition. That is why he included the measure in his original health care proposal.

If a decision is made to use reconciliation to advance health care, Senator Reid will work with the White House, the House, and members of his caucus in an effort to craft a public option that can overcome procedural obstacles and secure enough votes.

That’s a fairly big step forward: Up until now, Reid, while supporting the public option throughout the process, had been silent on whether he’d support a reconciliation vote on it.

While most focus on that wonderful news, more eye catching today maybe another aggressive staunch taken against the health insurance industry by one Diane Feinstein of all people.

Already making news with becoming the 10th Dem to sign onto the Public Option pledge, she has called for a national regulator instead of the state individual option that the industry sure would love to keep.

Radical moderate Dianne Feinstein, of all people, has a solution to this – creating a Medical Insurance Rate Authority which would have say over insurer rate hikes at the federal level. It’s a small leap from this, intended to react to Anthem Blue Cross’ 39% rate hike in California, and a federal regulator of the health insurance industry with oversight over all regulations.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Friday that she plans to introduce legislation that would bar insurance companies from enacting health insurance premium rate increases that the Secretary of the Health and Human Services deems to be unjustified.

The bill would create a national Medical Insurance Rate Authority, which would be able to prevent such increases. Feinstein’s announcement follows reports that Anthem Blue Cross had intended to jack up premiums for certain policyholders in California by as much as 39 percent.

It appears the arrogance of the health insurance industry, especially one Anthem Blue Cross In California, has appeared to be the last straw for some Dems in regards to cuddling the industry.

These aggressive moves at reform wouldn't be made unless they believed something needed to be done, because imagine how stupid it would be for them to suddenly re-utter the "dead and buried" government insurance option for just a cheap political trick? And for Feinstein to push for Kat Sebelius' current position to oversee the industry should not be just discounted as little news.

Again, there is a long way to go to seeing that public option in the reconciliation bill with at least 50 Senators for it. Everyone knows not to get their hopes up too high until that event comes to actual reality.

But the biggest and justified cynic and pessimist would be irrational to discount this as pure BS to make the base happy for the midterms less than 9 months away. Again, why would these Senators even bring up the "public option" again when they didn't necessarily have to?

Maybe we should have every state have their behemoths in the health insurance industry say they will raise their rates in order for real meaningful reform to happen?

Because Blue Cross in Cali's actions sure seem to have spurred something.