Who put the Option in the 'Bama JAMA Ding Dong?

In a move, the timing of which I'm sure was completely unrelated to, and in no way whatsoever coordinated with, Hillary Clinton releasing her official healthcare plan and Bernie Sanders immediately endorsing it, President Obama yesterday became the first sitting President in U.S. history to have an article published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

As the Huffington Post's Jeffrey Young notes:

President Barack Obama has revived his endorsement of a government-run “public option” health insurance program that would compete with private plans on the Affordable Care Act’s exchange marketplaces.

...Obama believes a public option is needed to drive down insurance costs and promote greater choice, he writes in an article published by the Journal of the American Medical Association Monday. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton reaffirmed her support for the policy Saturday.

Obama’s submission to the prestigious publication ― the first ever by a sitting president ― mainly consists of a predictably positive recounting of the Affordable Care Act’s contributions to expanding health coverage, constraining cost growth, reforming how health care providers are paid, and improving patient safety.

...Embracing the public option ― which Obama previously supported but abandoned to gain health care industry support and secure crucial votes in the Senate to pass the ACA ― aligns the current president with Clinton and the platform that will be adopted at the Democratic National Convention this month. 

Several of Obama’s other prescriptions for improving the health care system through the mechanisms created by the Affordable Care Act also resemble theClinton campaign agenda.

I don't have time to read the whole thing today (it's pretty in the weeds), but take a look.