A public option you have to pay for (it collects premiums) that will serve only 5% of the people

[Nikki Stone1]

Uh.....

Hmm....

Now, I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business. They provide a legitimate service, and employ a lot of our friends and neighbors. I just want to hold them accountable. The insurance reforms that I’ve already mentioned would do just that. But an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange. Let me be clear – it would only be an option for those who don’t have insurance. No one would be forced to choose it, and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance. In fact, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, we believe that less than 5% of Americans would sign up.

Despite all this, the insurance companies and their allies don’t like this idea. They argue that these private companies can’t fairly compete with the government. And they’d be right if taxpayers were subsidizing this public insurance option. But they won’t be. I have insisted that like any private insurance company, the public insurance option would have to be self-sufficient and rely on the premiums it collects. But by avoiding some of the overhead that gets eaten up at private companies by profits, excessive administrative costs and executive salaries, it could provide a good deal for consumers. It would also keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting a vibrant system of private colleges and universities.

[Nikki Stone1]

1. The Obama plan is a hodgepodge of ideas.

You need to pick one and go with it, Sir.

[redqueen]

13. lol... you waited a whole 10 minutes before the vanity kick

:rofl:

[LSK]

2. of course it collects premiums!!!!

I would gladly pay them too. How do you expect it to be funded? The tooth fairy?

[scheming daemons]

3. +1000

[Nikki Stone1]

5. That number indicates that you don't understand what a public option IS.

:(

[Nikki Stone1]

4. A public option should be publicly funded. Like Medicare. You don't pay premiums for Medicare

Hello?

[LSK]

6. that would be single payer

Public option is not the same thing. Public option is a stepping stone to single payer.

And you do pay premiums if you opt for Medicare part D.

I also refer you to Thom Hartmann's idea:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=479407&mesg_id=479407

"Just pass a simple bill - it could probably be just a few lines, like when Medicare was expanded to include disabled people - that says that any American citizen can buy into the program at a rate to be set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which reflects the actual cost for us to buy into it."

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Tell that to anybody over 65 and get laughed out of the room. Seniors pay a

monthly premium for Part B, think it's $96/month. You can purchase Part C (supplementals), and for Part D.

[FLDCVADem]

7. Um yes, you do

People that use Medicare most certainly do pay premiums.

Public option never meant free, it meant run as a non-profit by the government, thus public.

[ipaint]

10. $96.40 a month taken out of social security check. No charge for hospitalization. n/t

[FLDCVADem]

17. So what

It's still a premium.

[ipaint]

20. One that private insurance can't compete with. n/t

[Fading Captain]

18. Taxes

Like medicare.

[alphafemale]

19. lol! + infinity nt

[ipaint]

9. All the private plans will be subsidized why not the public one.

[The Gunslinger]

11. That doesn't sound like a public option to me

[JimWis]

12. It may start out at 5%, but it will grow. That is how we sneak

public insurance in the back door. And yes - we have to pay a premium, just like Medicare charges a premium.

[ipaint]

14. How do you figure that. a few million sick people in a plan that needs to be self supporting.

[The Gunslinger]

16. that will never happen

If it mandatory to keep the insurance your employer offers you (that's why it's not really a public option) The Insurance companies will just get richer and bigger and control more of Capital Hill. This is the last chance for reform.

[donco6]

15. Reply to your own post? Weird.

And not worth worrying about.