Publice Health Insurance Plan Cheaper for America

The obvious advantage of a public health insurance plan is that it can offer people comprehensive coverage at a low price, as a bulk buyer keep costs low on prescription drugs, and, even better, it will force private insurance companies to lower their costs and improve their coverage or fade out of existence. Best of all, a public health care plan will enact real health care reform buy not having profit as its goal.

The problem that people fear is that this public health insurance plan will cost to much. But first of all there is a fact to consider: Robert Reich writes for the Wall Street Journal today:

it's important to recognize that those terrifying CBO cost projections significantly overstate the costs. They did not include potential cost savings from the lynchpin of health-care cost containment: a so-called public option that would give people who don't get health care from their employer the choice of a public health insurance plan. Why? For the simple reason that the Senate committees hadn't yet agreed on a public option. Yet without a public option, the other parties that comprise America's non-system of health care -- private insurers, doctors, hospitals, drug companies, and medical suppliers -- have little or no incentive to supply high-quality care at a lower cost than they do now.

And Mr. Reich has some strong support from independent studies (see the accompanying video). As reported by Reuters

A nationwide health insurance exchange that includes a Medicare-like government option could save $1.8 trillion more than if only private health insurance plans are offered, a prominent private U.S. health policy group said on Wednesday.

Federal spending on health-related costs would still rise from 2010 to 2020, but they would be less with a plan that pays doctors and hospital rates similar to the Medicare program for the elderly and disabled, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund.

This should effectively in debate. The public health insurance plan will offer everyone the chance to have full coverage at an affordable costs, it will force private insurance companies to play fair in order to compete, and now, we find out, it will be cheaper for America. There is no longer any reason to oppose a public health care plan as the heart of health reform for this country.