Is the Public Option the Answer to Healthcare Reform?

By U.S. News Staff

July 13, 2009 RSS Feed Print

Backers of a public option for health insurance say it would help control costs and guarantee coverage for all. Opponents insist that a government-run plan would put private insurers out of business, leaving Americans with only one choice, socialized care. Can the public option work?
Edited by Steve St. Angelo

Yes

Today, when many Americans try to choose their healthcare plans, they are left with no choice at

By Kathleen Sebelius
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services; former Kansas governor

all. Health insurance premiums have skyrocketed, putting many insurance plans out of reach for working families. In many parts of the country, particularly rural areas, there is one dominant insurance company that controls more than 70 percent of the market. When Americans are offered care by their employers, they still struggle to pay ever increasing deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. In the end, millions of...

No

I share the president's goal of helping all Americans get the healthcare they need. I agree

By Sen. Mike Enzi
Ranking member, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee from Wyoming; Senate's lone accountant

with what the president has said over and over during the campaign and since taking office: We need reform that will bring down healthcare costs, help everyone get quality care, and allow Americans who like the care they have to keep it. Unfortunately, many of the ideas floating through Congress, like creating a government-run plan, would break the promises that the president has made. As we proceed with the healthcare...

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Without a Public Option, this whole episode will just be an expensive lobbying campaign by the Health Care Industry to cement their monopolies and guarantee the their runaway costs will continue.
Without a Public Option, there will be no health care reform - just what the health care industry is paying for in their campaign of manufactured dissent, with their rent-a-mobs being shuttled by bus to disrupt from one town hall meeting to the next. DC lobbyists are bragging about how they are killing civil discussion - and calling it democracy in action.
Its all part of Pete Session's Republican Taliban strategy of intimidating and terrorizing by tantrum with no intention of ever debating issues.
Its all more Swift Boating the 70% of Americans who want health care reform.
Its all pretty disgusting and demonstrates the conservative sleaze at its worst.

PJ of TN 12:24AM August 06, 2009

So Linda you want to live in a dictatorsip? If we outlaw tabacco let's outlaw alcohol as well!

sheri of IN 3:22PM July 31, 2009

"It has twice the cost, & half the public health outcome of the systems in other industrial nations."
That sentence right there shows you have no idea what you are talking about. You sir are indeed an idiot. Please don't cite infant mortality rates as most liberals are prone to throw at you. If you knew anything at all about health care, you would know that number is not accurate due to vastly different definitions from country to country.
If you want to really assess the effectiveness of a nations health care system, you need to check the mortality rates for cardiovascular disease and cancer. You will find Americans enjoy higher survivability in almost every category of disease. I doubt you have the mental capacity for such detailed analysis so let's just put that aside.
Instead, give one good example of government efficiency. Which government entitlement has actually saved the country money and contained costs?
Still searching? The answer is none. Every government entitlement such as Medicare and Medicaid have actually cost taxpayers orders of magnitude more money than estimated or promised.
Insurance companies are not gatekeepers. Insurance is a contract for specified services. If you want more health care including expensive medicines and procedures, you pay more. If you want less coverage, you pay less.
The only effective gatekeeper will be the actual consumer.

Dan of TX 10:26AM July 30, 2009

Is the Public Option the Answer to Healthcare Reform?

Yes

No

Is the public option the key to healthcare reform?

Reader Comments Read all comments (36)

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