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"A public option will be only one more player in our costly, fragmented system of funding health care," writes McCanne. "It alone will bring us none of the important features of a single payer system such as efficiency, equity, systemic cost savings, and universality." (Photo: niXerKG/flickr/cc)
Last week an intensive campaign was initiated in support of a "public option"--offering the choice of a public, nonprofit insurance plan which competes with private health plans. Our enthusiasm should be tempered.
Following are a couple of points to keep in mind, especially when you hear promises that the public option is a giant step towards single payer:
Last week an intensive campaign was initiated in support of a "public option"--offering the choice of a public, nonprofit insurance plan which competes with private health plans. Our enthusiasm should be tempered.
Following are a couple of points to keep in mind, especially when you hear promises that the public option is a giant step towards single payer:
Many look to Jacob Hacker for inspiration on enacting and implementing a public option. But he has identified the greatest barrier to moving forward. In a recent Vox article, he wrote, "Private plans lobbied aggressively against the public option in 2009 on the grounds that it would amount to unfair competition. But insurers don't want a level playing field; they want the field tilted in their favor."
Now see if you can find a Congress that doesn't tilt the field in favor of the private insurers. Not even on the horizon.
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Last week an intensive campaign was initiated in support of a "public option"--offering the choice of a public, nonprofit insurance plan which competes with private health plans. Our enthusiasm should be tempered.
Following are a couple of points to keep in mind, especially when you hear promises that the public option is a giant step towards single payer:
Many look to Jacob Hacker for inspiration on enacting and implementing a public option. But he has identified the greatest barrier to moving forward. In a recent Vox article, he wrote, "Private plans lobbied aggressively against the public option in 2009 on the grounds that it would amount to unfair competition. But insurers don't want a level playing field; they want the field tilted in their favor."
Now see if you can find a Congress that doesn't tilt the field in favor of the private insurers. Not even on the horizon.
Last week an intensive campaign was initiated in support of a "public option"--offering the choice of a public, nonprofit insurance plan which competes with private health plans. Our enthusiasm should be tempered.
Following are a couple of points to keep in mind, especially when you hear promises that the public option is a giant step towards single payer:
Many look to Jacob Hacker for inspiration on enacting and implementing a public option. But he has identified the greatest barrier to moving forward. In a recent Vox article, he wrote, "Private plans lobbied aggressively against the public option in 2009 on the grounds that it would amount to unfair competition. But insurers don't want a level playing field; they want the field tilted in their favor."
Now see if you can find a Congress that doesn't tilt the field in favor of the private insurers. Not even on the horizon.