Reply #48: That's Medicare Part C. Medicare Part A [View All]

[Ms. Toad]

is the original Medicare. Whether Medicare started out subsiding private insurance or not, it does now.

I don't know how anyone can even begin to estimate how many people will enroll in a public option plan when even the basic details are only set forth in one version of the bill and being threatened with removal even from that version. They're not anywhere near being able to predict which will be more popular 4 years after it starts in 2013 when it is finally open to everyone.

BUT, the basic structure (aside from who pays the premiums) is virtually the same as the structure for Medicare. There is no particular reason to believe it would perform any better or worse than Medicare does in terms of providing competition for the private insurance companies.