Senate Dems Caving Already on Health Care

Yesterday, Senator Schumer proposed a "middle ground" on healthcare reform. The New York Times reports the core points of his "compromise":

• The public plan must be self-sustaining. It should pay claims with money raised from premiums and co-payments. It should not receive tax revenue or appropriations from the government.

• The public plan should pay doctors and hospitals more than what Medicare pays. Medicare rates, set by law and regulation, are often lower than what private insurers pay.

• The government should not compel doctors and hospitals to participate in a public plan just because they participate in Medicare.

• To prevent the government from serving as both "player and umpire," the officials who manage a public plan should be different from those who regulate the insurance market.

Some of the experts say that these points aren’t a big deal and maybe they’re right. Slinkerwink does not agree here.

But what about these quotes?