Clearly the Senate version of the public option is being compromised. If the end result is a triggered co-op or similar, we're in really bad shape. If it's this Swiss thing, it might not be so bad.
However -- and this is a huge however -- Jon Cohn asks a good question:
But that raises a key question: If liberals give yet more ground on the public option, what should they ask in return?
How about this. The Swiss Plan has to be based on Medicare rates, the plan has to be available within a year and anyone can buy into it regardless of employment status. In other words, the premiums are based on Medicare premiums and it's a free choice plan. So it'd be like a robust public option, but with private insurance companies providing the risk and the government keeping them regulated and honest.
That would make the whole thing infinitely more digestible to me.