Health & Medicine

Is the public option integral to meaningful health care reform? (October 8, 2009)

 

Read full discussion >

Public option will weaken health care protections

Michael Eisen, Associate Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology | 10/24/09 | 3 comments | Leave a comment
Michael Eisen

I understand all of the reasons people favor a strong public option in the health insurance reform bills percolating through Congress, and I know that it’s an apostasy to say so, but my recent experiences with the health care industry make me deeply concerned about the public option.

My wife recently had a baby – born at 2:00 AM. By the middle of that day – less than 12 hours after the baby was born, it was clear that the hospital wanted us to leave. But my wife wanted to stay – and the hostpital couldn’t send us home because federal … More >

Comments to "Public option will weaken health care protections":
    • Public Health Gal 3/21/10, 9:09 am As a UCB alum of the Public Health School and PH professional for over 20 years, I am frankly quite surprised to hear an argument against a public option formulated around a story of your wife getting more care than she desired. This is hardly the case for many people, who like me, ... More >
    • Michael Eisen 10/26/09, 8:26 pm Phillipe - I support, in the abstract, the idea of a national health system. But the reason such a system works as well as it does (which, fwiw, is far from perfect) in France and other European countries is because there is a national political consensus that supports the high tax ... More >
    • Philippe Boucher 10/26/09, 5:05 pm How come countries like France have no such problems and provide for every new family excellent pre and post natal care while spending (I think) less than what the US spends on health care?

The details matter

William Dow, professor of health economics | 10/19/09 | One comment | Leave a comment
William Dow

The effects of any public option in health care reform will depend critically on details of how it is structured, and how well it is implemented over time.  Consider how public option designs would affect the goals of universal insurance, cost control, efficiency, and choice:

1. Universal insurance: To tackle the uninsurance problem, a public option is not necessary.  Many European countries have achieved near-universal insurance in the context of private insurance markets without a public option, e.g., Switzerland and the Netherlands.  But if a public option reduced costs, then it could ease the budgetary strain of reducing uninsurance.

2. Cost Control: … More >

Comment to "The details matter":
    • wedelstein 10/20/09, 2:14 pm Did William Dow sway you on the necessity of a public option? Or would the federal government's strong role in overseeing a public option give you pause?

Is the public option essential for meaningful health reform?

Helen Halpin, professor of health policy | 10/12/09 | 12 comments | Leave a comment
Helen Halpin

The four goals of offering the public option as part of health care reform are 1) to reduce administrative costs, 2) to create purchasing power, 3) to force private health insurance to compete with it, and 4) to give the American people a choice of a public or private health plans. The big questions are: who will be eligible? how big will the premium subsidies be? and will it be a national public option with all states participating? If a national public option is offered through a Federal Health Insurance Exchange, it has the potential to transform the US health care system to one that is more efficient, affordable, accessible, equitable and offers meaningful choices to high quality care for the American people. More >

Comments to "Is the public option essential for meaningful health reform?":
    • Paje 9/2/11, 9:49 am The public option is critical to health care reform. Congress and the President need to demonstrate real leadership and move forward, not backward, with true health care reform.
    • Melissa 1/15/11, 9:26 pm Unfortunately the bill that was passed did not come anywhere close to accomplishing this, though that is not to say it wasn't an improvement. We can nevertheless hope that it was a step in the right direction and that further down the road, a public option will be introduced if ... More >
    • vitalwebconnections 12/26/10, 7:26 am “Why aren’t we discussing tort reform? The state of Texas recently passed tort reform limiting the amount the courts can award in lawsuits, and it has proven to lower the cost of healthcare while increasing the quality of care. ” I'm absolutely agree with him

Read full discussion >