Who prefers the public health insurance option?

The public health insurance plan being discussed as part of national health reform would work more like Medicare, in which the government runs the insurance coverage, but the doctors, hospitals and other health care providers people go to are the same private, independent providers that currently care for them.

In fact, people with Medicare currently have the choice of public health insurance or private plans that contract with Medicare. About eighty percent of the 44.8 million older and disabled Americans who have Medicare coverage—about 35.4 million people—choose the government-run public plan over the private Medicare plans.

It is the choice 73 percent of voters want, including Democrats (77 percent), Independents (79 percent), and Republicans (63 percent). They want this choice because:

• 61 percent think a public health insurance plan will be better able to control health care costs by using its purchasing power to drive competition. Only 25 percent believe a public health insurance plan will shift higher costs onto the privately insured.


• 61 percent agree that millions of people are already losing their coverage every year, and a choice of private or public health insurance plans will make sure that Americans always have quality, affordable care. Only 27 percent believe the claim that a public health insurance plan will cause millions of people to be dumped from their private coverage.


• 66 percent agree that a public health insurance plan will provide a choice with a standard, comprehensive package of benefits and a wide choice of doctors. Only 26 percent believe a public health insurance plan will force people into lower quality care including rationing and long waits.

It's time we all had the choice of public health insurance!

Here's the full article.