Then they mean whatever Congress says they mean. Senator Max Baucus made a bold pronouncement about his health care reform bill–it will not include a public option. Instead it will provide for health insurance co-ops. What does that mean, exactly? From the Washington Times, BUTLER: COOP d’etat: An acronym does not a co-op make
…The word “co-op,” short for “co-operative,” is indeed quite familiar to Americans. Many Americans live in apartments in co-op-owned buildings. You can order a live lobster from the Maine Lobsterman’s co-op and have it delivered promptly to your door. Over in Wisconsin you’ll encounter the sheep breeders’ co-op. Or maybe you keep your bank account with a credit union, another co-op.
They all have something in common. They are private associations organized by private people, and they are jointly and privately owned and controlled.
So being able to get health insurance through a co-op would seem to be a good idea and very different from a government public option, right? So this part of the Baucus proposal makes sense?
Ah, but remember Lewis Carroll. It turns out that the word “co-op” in the Baucus plan has a different meeting from the way the rest of America understands it. In fact it isn’t even a word. It is an acronym. It stands for a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan, and it is a new federal health program, not a private entity like the one that sends you lobsters or gives you your cash at the ATM.
Rather than the familiar private co-op, the Baucus COOP program has start-up funds provided by the federal government and allocated by a federal board. The new membership plan cannot even be an existing co-op organization – sorry, no health plan delivered with your Maine lobster. And while chartered by a state, it must operate according to rules established by the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
In fact, suggesting that Mr. Baucus’ COOP is a true private co-op is a bit like saying a bill titled the Treasury Agents to eXpand the Crackdown on Unsuspecting Taxpayers must reduce taxes because its acronym is TAXCUT…
More at the link.