Senator Kent Conrad likes Co-ops. Making Health Care Co-ops a reality is his pet project and his alternative to a Public Option. The President and others are starting to listen. Conrad's primal fear of a Public Option should come as no surprise: just in the 2009-10 cycle Conrad's received almost 3/4 of a Million $$$ in donations/bribes from "Health" PACs and industry-related individuals -- so far.
So he's pushing "Co-ops":
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"[P]rivate, consumer-owned, non-profit cooperatives that would provide affordable health care to families, individuals and small businesses."
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Conrad says this "bridges the gap" between the GOP-endorsed status quo and the Public Option. In fact, the Public Option is the compromise between the status quo and Single Payer. Conrad is a tool of the Health Insurance Industry. Let's get that straight.
Co-ops have a track record. A good one, that became a bad one, that's getting worse.