Jerry writes:

I would love to know, if we can get national healthcare passed, how many people that have been working and won’t retire because of the high cost of healthcare will finally beable to retire, then there will more job openings.

Answer:

If President Obama’s plan passes, people who retire before age 65 will be able to afford healthcare in either the private or public sector because the cost will be based on your income.  In a public option your healthcare follows you no matter where you move to and no matter what your employment status is.

Fresh off of guest hosting Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Gov. Howard Dean will be here in a few minutes to blog about healthcare reform. He’ll be joined by one of his Countdown guests, author Phillip Longman, and they want you to join the discussion. (Hey — and thanks for all the great comments already!)

Here’s the drill:

• they post
• you write your comments and questions in the comments field
• they address as many as they can

And so it’ll go until 10 pm. It’s going to be fun!

Here’s a question I came away with from the show:

Should Senate Democrats just drop the bipartisan stuff and fight for a reform bill with a robust public option — i.e. one that gives American people a choice?

Stick around — Gov. Dean will be with us in a few minutes to kick things off. Meanwhile, here’s a quick note about our bloggers.

He hardly needs an introduction, but Gov. Howard Dean is the former governor of Vermont, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, founder of Democracy for America, and current chairman of the Progressive Book Club. He’s the author, most recently, of Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform.

Phillip Longman is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and the author of Best Care Anywhere: Why VA Health Care Is Better Than Yours, which chronicles the quality transformation of the Veterans Health Administration and applies its lessons to a plan for reforming the U.S. health care system as a whole.