Today, Speaker Pelosi released the latest proposed health care reform legislation at a rally on Capitol Hill. No surprise, it included a public option.
Here’s what I don’t understand. If the object is to help the uninsured, why doesn’t Congress focus on doing that? Why would they want people who have private health insurance to go on the public rolls — especially given the undeniable fact that the government can’t come close to meeting the obligations it has already assumed under Medicare and Medicaid?
The right answer is to empower people who don’t have health insurance to get it, preferably on the private market. See my article on Association Health Plans in the newsroom section.