Should a public health insurance plan be offered as part of national health care reform legislation?
The House and Senate health care reform bills each are around 2,000 pages long. The public health insurance option fills less than 15 pages in each bill, but is making headlines and stirring heated debate between Democrats and Republicans, and among Democrats in both chambers.
In both the House and Senate versions, the so-called "public option" is a proposed health insurance plan offered by the U.S. federal government. The idea is that if a government-run option were offered to compete with private insurers, it could help keep costs in check and ensure quality. It would compete with similar private insurance plans in a newly-created Health Insurance Exchange or marketplace, from which individuals, families and small businesses could buy health insurance that meets a minimum federal standard. Those covered by other employer plans or state insurance plans such as Medicare would not be eligible for coverage from the exchange and could not obtain this form of federal health insurance. The federal government's health insurance plan would be financed by premiums with no subsidy from the government. The Senate version would allow states to opt out of the federal program.
Should a public health insurance plan be offered as part of national health care reform legislation?
Resources:
The Kaiser Family Foundation's Side-By-Side Comparison of Major Health Care Reform Proposals
Pro-Publica's ongoing coverage
Forum with Michael Krasny: Senate Committee Passes Health Care Bill (Oct. 14, 2009)
The California Report: The Future of Insurance Age Rating (Oct. 27, 2009)
Comments
4 Responses to “Should a public health insurance plan be offered as part of national health care reform legislation?”
CRITICAL!! From jacksmith – Working Class
My Fellow Americans and People Of The World
A strong Government-run MEDICARE like Public Option is CRITICAL!!
I have to tell you now that the H1N1 virus is a manmade WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION! and TERROR! It is a WEAPONIZED version of a flu virus. It has swept the planet infecting millions. And causing a global pandemic that has killed tens of thousands, and injured millions.
The H1N1 virus is the product of the DISGRACEFUL, GREED DRIVEN PRIVATE FOR PROFIT MEDICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! It was released in the U.S. in Texas in early January of this year, but not recognized until around April in California. The reason I know this is because when it came to America, it came to see me FIRST! How sweet…
This was around the time the MEDICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! assaulted the Whitehouse with all their devils deals to cripple and weaken YOUR! healthcare reform. Especially your right to have a single payer system like HR676 (Medicare For All) which most of you wanted.
They don't even want you to have your HUGE!!! compromise position of a strong government-run MEDICARE like Public Option CHOICE. To compete with their DISGRACEFUL, GREED DRIVEN, MURDEROUS, PRIVATE FOR PROFIT PRODUCT (The single most deadly and dangerous product sold in America).
They also wanted to take away your rights to have your government meet it's responsibility to use it's full power to regulate, negotiate, and control drug cost, healthcare cost and quality. Something every other civilized country in the developed World has done for it's people. Their Greed! moral degeneracy and lack of patriotism knows no bounds.
Many of you will remember that before we knew about H1N1. I posted a open message to the President and Congress warning them to be vigilant about their health, and cautious about any medical advice they received. As I said then "they will not hesitate to try and hurt you".
The U.S. and the World have been under a BIOLOGICAL TERROR ATTACK! for over a year now. It is CRITICAL that We The People Of The United States take away control of our healthcare system from the GREED DRIVEN MEDICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX!
For our own National security, and the security of the world.
A Strong, government-run, MEDICARE like Public Option CHOICE. Available to everyone on day one, with the full unfettered power of the federal government to regulate, negotiate, and control cost and quality. Would be the most workable way to deal with this global crisis at this time. Including patent suspensions as needed for national security or the greater good.
As an American I invite the peoples of the World to help us fix our healthcare crisis. And bring pressure on our government to meet it's responsibility to protect global security by controlling, and removing the corrupting influence of GREED and the PRIVATE FOR PROFIT motivations from healthcare in the U.S. and around the World.
I call on the governments of the World and the global intelligence community to track down these MASS MURDERERS, and bring them to justice. CONNECT THE DOTS! And be vigilant that they don't slip in another viral strain on you under the cloak of H1N1 sequestration.
Further, the proposed patent protection on biologic's must be stripped from the US bill. And greatly shorten/restricted, or abolished completely. This is a grave danger to humanity and global security.
I think President Obama is doing the best he can at playing the disastrous deck of cards he inherited from the previous administration. And I think he is doing an excellent job. But the wolves and devils of the medical industrial complex! are trying to exploit, and take advantage of his good heart, and desperate desire to help suffering Americans. But we must be strong and insist that healthcare reform be done right for the American people. Or everyone loose's.
This is all I can say in a message post. I'll try to find a way to tell you more later.
God Bless You My Fellow Human Beings
jacksmith – Working Class
p.s. The so-called nominal H1N1 virus is designed in such a way as to make it more lethal to children and young adults. The medical community must be more vigilant of secondary bacterial infections in the young caused by H1N1. And remember, a viral infection is also a transfer of genetic code to you. Think about it, and be vigilant.
Yes!
The choice of basic health care in the developed world should be a human right.
I believe big profits and greed are corrupting the political process against the public option.
Thank you,
Eric
Please add a public option for health care reform. I am actually in favor of single payer health care–after the Medicare model–but since this isn't even being discussed, I'll go for the public option.
I'm really worried that the politicians aren't listening to what the people want and are paying too much attention to the insurance company lobbyists lining up outside their doors.
The insurance industry has made an astonishing amount of money by denying people health care. I suspect that they will find ways to line their own pockets, at our collective peril, much as they always have. Advertising is marvelously effective and they will find their victims regardless of whether a public option is available or not. Good non-profit plans (Kaiser comes to mind) may offer many of the advantages of a public plan, at least to those intelligent enough to make the choice. An interesting, and disturbing, question is how health insurers will distort public policy to improve their bottom lines. But to my mind the single most important issue is that the cost of health insurance premiums should not discriminate based on health expectations. This has been required since the early 1950s by the IRS in order for corporations to deduct their health insurance outlays as a fully qualified business expense. If not for this IRS rule, people with any health problem, or over the age of 50, would simply not have jobs.