Individual private insurance would in effect be illegal - Updated

Pudge got the facts right, but the headline wrong. They have carefully set up their bills so President 0 can say "we will not take away your current insurance," while their bill will pick off individuals year after year until the private plans are too small to survive. The are building many exits, one tricky transfer but no entrances. When people make job changes the government plan grabs them. When young people enter the workforce the government plan grabs them. If you want a plan with better coverage, or whatever, you will have no option but to stay. And eventually a life change will allow the government plan to grab you. How many people over age 65 are in private plans? None, because Medicare killed off all its "competitors" within five years. There were "allowed to continue," but were shrunk until they could not survive and shut down. As Pudge says:

And it is, of course, quite possible that these mandates will essentially leave you with little or no choice: all products may end up costing about the same and having about the same benefits. And many, most, or even all private insurers may decide they cannot earn a profit under the government's conditions, and drop out of the individual health insurance market. All of this is possible, and scary.

He got the facts right, but let the government takeover team hide behind a narrow technicality. Who is surprised? They have been saying for years that they want single-payer health care. What do you call something there is a law against you doing? Illegal. - Update: Some of us are not familiar with this bill that was unveiled last Tuesday. Neither is President 0. He is conveniently unfamiliar with section 102 that is reported to outlaw private insurance:

With the public"s trust in his handling of health care tanking (50%-44% of Americans disapprove), the White House has launched a new phase of its strategy designed to pass Obamacare: all Obama, all the time. As part of that effort, Obama hosted a conference call with leftist bloggers urging them to pressure Congress to pass his health plan as soon as possible. During the call, a blogger from Maine said he kept running into an Investors Business Daily article that claimed Section 102 of the House health legislation would outlaw private insurance. He asked: "Is this true? Will people be able to keep their insurance and will insurers be able to write new policies even though H.R. 3200 is passed?" President Obama replied: "You know, I have to say that I am not familiar with the provision you are talking about." (quote begins at 17:10)

The text is the quote of a commenter (farther down) on a post at Huffington Post, but you can listen to the recording of the call at the same location