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Who Opts?

One point I’m not clear on with regard to the idea of an “opt-out” public option is who does the opting? If the way it works is that you need concurrent affirmative action by both houses of the state legislature and the governor, then it strikes me as very likely that the public option that emerges from an opt-out process will be very strong. If governors can do it unilaterally, then you’ll get something with more of a swiss cheese quality to it.

Similarly, if a state has opted out and decides four years later that it wants in, who gets to decide?

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