Increased Support for Public Option brings about Spook-tacular Claims
Two separate polls released this week, one by ABC NEWS/Washington Post and another conducted by Kaiser, suggest that a majority of Americans – 57 percent – favor a public option as a part of the health reform legislation. Texas families have been hit harder than many Americans, as they watch their premiums nearly double since 2000. Last year, only four other states paid more in premiums than Texans. Even before the economic downturn, high health care costs force many Texans to make tough choices about their coverage, putting many at risk of a medical bankruptcy or worse. The state’s unfortunate honor of the highest rate of uninsured, means that Texas would have the most to gain from such a provision.
The inclusion of a robust public option will provide small businesses and qualifying individuals with the opportunity to purchase affordable and high quality coverage. A public option would also increase competition among private health insurance providers, and ultimately lower the costs of premiums, reduce out-of-pocket expenses, and decrease the long-term costs of health reform.
Insurance companies have responded to the renewed support for a public option by claiming it could prove the end of the private insurance industry and lead to additional increases in premiums. This isn’t exactly what insurance executives are saying in private. At an industry meeting held last month, senior vice president for underwriting, pricing and health care economics at UnitedHealthcare, Richard Collins disclosed to investors:
“I believe the private system is important because it brings innovation, it brings energy, it brings change, it brings ideas that are often used in the public sector system as well,…I think we can have both a public and private system.” -Richard Collins, senior vice president for underwriting, pricing, and health care economics, UnitedHealthcare
With the increasing public support for more affordable health care options, it sounds like the same old scare tactics are being employed by the insurance industry.
