What is the Public Option?

The Public Health Insurance Option is the heart of strong health care reform, a high-quality, affordable plan that would be key to lowering skyrocketing health care costs and helping to provide coverage for all Americans. Recent polling shows that 83% of Americans support having the choice of a public health insurance plan. But insurance companies and conservatives in Congress are trying to kill it.

Here is what a public health insurance option would mean:

1. A choice for all of us. If the public health insurance option passes, Americans will be able to choose between keeping their current insurance and choosing a high-quality, public plan. If you like your current care, you can keep it. If you don't—or don't have any—you can get the public insurance plan.
2. It will be high-quality coverage with a choice of doctors. A public plan would improve quality, because it won't just focus on short-term profits like private plans do. And if you choose the public plan, you'll still get to choose your doctor and hospital.
3. We'll all save a bunch of money. The public health insurance option won't have to spend money on things like CEO bonuses, shareholder dividends, or excessive advertising, so it'll cost a lot less. Plus, the private plans will have to lower their rates and provide better value to compete, so people who keep their current insurance will save, too.
4. It will always be there for you and your family. A for-profit insurer can close, move out of the area, or just kick you off its insurance rolls. The public health insurance option will always be available to provide you with the health security you need.
5. And it's a key part of covering everyone. No longer will sick people or folks in rural communities, or low-income Americans be forced to go without coverage. The public health insurance plan will be available and accessible to everyone. And for those struggling to make ends meet, the premiums will be subsidized by the government.

Specifically, a public option must be:

• A national plan with real bargaining clout: In order to truly control costs and compete with private health insurance plans, a strong public health insurance option must be available nationwide.
• Ready on day one: Every day we wait on real reform, health care costs continue to rise. A strong public health insurance option right out of the gate is key to building a competitive program that will help control costs.
• A truly public plan: To ensure it's held to the highest standards of accountability, a public health insurance option must be truly publicly run—accountable and transparent to Congress and to voters.
• Part of a plan to cover all of us: A strong public health insurance option should be a key piece of a reform plan that will guarantee access to quality health care for everyone in America.

Sources:

"The Case for Public Plan Choice in National Health Reform," Institute for America's Future
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51396

"New Poll Shows Tremendous Support for Public Health Care Option," Blog for Our Future, June 15, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51510

"A co-op for the public option? Let's talk principles," The Now! Blog, June 12, 2009
http://blog.healthcareforamericanow.org/2009/06/12/a-co-op-for-the-public-option-lets-talk-principles/