Public Option May Be Gaining Traction

A public option for health care may be gaining traction according to some reports. Obama has come out and said that a public option should be included and even Montana Sen. Max Baucus, the Senate Finance Chairman, has said that a public option will probably be included in a Senate bill. He's the one who would not even include discussion of a public option in his senate hearings.

The article says that there is strong republican opposition to a public option because it will "handicap existing private insurance companies". Well, duh! That's what it is supposed to do. The private insurance companies do not want a public option because they cannot compete with it. Medicare operates with a 4 - 5% overhead. Private insurance companies operate with a 15-50% overhead. If you want to reduce health care costs, get private insurance companies out of providing primary health insurance.

What is what I would like to see:

1. A public primary health insurance option open to all people
2. Let private non-profit health insurance companies compete by provided primary care health insurance.
3. Let private for-profit health insurance companies provide secondary coverage, such as gap insurance, cosmetic insurance, private hospital rooms, or whatever else they want to cover.

This list is a nightmare for the for-profit health care insurance companies. This is exactly what they don't want. They are all about the money. For-profit health care corporations have corporate profits as their number one priority. Health care for their customers is second. We need a system where the health care of the customer is the primary purpose. You do that by removing the profit from it. They have no business profiting by refusing health care.