|
It seems to me that healthcare reform without a government option will mean that insurance company premiums have to go up. One way or another we are all going to pay to cover pre-conditions, the uninsured and also insure that people do not go broke when they get seriously injured or sick. It's either higher taxes, higher premiums or both.
I guess the government could give stipends to those who cannot afford to buy private insurance if there is no government plan. If the government is going to pick up the costs whether private plan or public plan one has to wonder why pay for insurance company profits as well. Maybe it would make sense if we are convinced that the (for profit) insurance companies are providing better quality coverage even with their profits than the government can.
I believe the only way to stick with private plans is if there is some way to get healthcare costs down via free market competition. As it stands now there is little or no competition in healthcare providers and costs are out of control. Maybe the Libertarians are right and if the government got completely out of healthcare there would be more competition and the costs would come down but I doubt it. Without competitive pricing for healthcare the government will probably have to control it somehow.
I wish President Obama would discuss this in greater detail but I think he is trying to keep all interested parties at the table and avoid what happened to Hillarycare in the 90s.
|