I'm still trying to understand Giffords health care stance

by David Safier
I keep trying to figure out where Giffords stands on health care, but I keep coming away with the feeling she doesn't want me, or anyone else, to know.

My latest search for clarification is the interview Giffords gave to Stephanie Innes at the Star. Here's the Q&A on the public option.

What do you mean by a public plan?
"A public option that a health-insurance company cannot deny you from applying to their program but you are able to have access to a cafeteria-style plan of health care. So for those 47 million Americans that have no coverage right now, that they are able either to get some subsidy through the federal government to buy into the plan, or to just directly buy into the plan to get some coverage and not be denied."

I'm a careful reader, and Giffords is very good at expressing herself clearly, but her answer here is tough for me to decipher. I'm going to take a stab at it. If I'm misinterpreting her words, feel free to correct me.

Giffords seems to be saying her definition of a public option is not a government run health care plan that would operate alongside private insurance plans. Instead it's a guarantee that anyone can get private health care insurance regardless of preexisting conditions, and if they can't afford it, the government will subsidize their premiums.

If I've read that correctly, it's a stretch to call her plan a "public option" and a misrepresentation to call it a "strong public option," a term she has used before.

Later, Giffords mentions there are a host of bills, which is true, but she avoids saying if she favors any of them. Again, she won't be pinned down.

I'll end with another part of the interview, to give Giffords another chance to explain her position, even though I don't think it sheds any more light on her views.

"We're not going to take on everyone's health insurance. So if you like what you have and are able to keep it, there will be no change. . . . At this point, there is a public option that's going to be available. But who participates, how much does it cost, how you get in, who's eligible, those things are still being discussed."